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GREENSBORO - Nikki Tipton spent Monday in the same place she spent most of her days, Red Mike Grocery. But the address was the only thing that was the same.

The man she planned to marry this week was dead; the store where she met him and where their relationship grew was locked and dark. Three cellophane-wrapped bouquets leaned against the door. Tipton sat on a bench outside, hugging her knees.

"It's the closest I could get," Tipton said.

Police continued to investigate the death of a man found shot in the store on Sunday, but released no new information about the shooting that killed him. Police have not identified the man because they haven't been able to get in contact with his family, James said.

But Tipton said her fiance, Mohammed "Mike" Ali, 29, died at Moses Cone Hospital after being shot in the store about 9:30 a.m. Sunday. A customer called police to report the shooting at 9:40 a.m., police said. Neighbors reported hearing gunshots and seeing two men running east on Fisher Avenue.

"I worry about him at four in the morning. For him to get shot at 9:30 in the morning with Sunday school going in - " Tipton said, her voice trailing off.

Although the store's cash register had been disturbed, detectives had not confirmed robbery as a motive, Lt. Brian James said.

A High Point convenience store clerk and a Greensboro shop owner have been killed in the past 14 months, and a Greensboro convenience store owner was shot and assaulted twice in one week in October, but James said that does not necessarily mean it's becoming a more dangerous job.

"As long as convenience stores have been in existence, you've seen some of this," James said. "I wouldn't say it's much worse than it has been in the past."

Some neighbors feel like the neighborhood is getting more dangerous. Rhonda Williamson, a Fisher Park resident, comforted Tipton after she saw her sitting outside the store.

Williamson said her apartment building has had four break-ins since the beginning of the summer.

"The level of violence in this neighborhood has shot up," Williamson said.

The Fisher Park neighborhood has an active e-mail list, established after the neighborhood began to experience car and home break-ins.

Police are counting on the neighborhood's vigilance to help with their investigation, asking anyone who sees anything suspicious to report it to police.

It may already have helped.

A neighborhood resident reported finding a mysterious item of clothing in her trash can and reported the find to police, according to a message posted on a neighborhood e-mail group. Another e-mail said police had found more suspicious clothing and a handgun in other neighbors' trash.

James would not comment on any evidence found, citing the ongoing investigation.

Contact Sonja Elmquist at 373-7090 or sonja.elmquist@news-record.com