MONUMENT, Colo. — The head of the Colorado Department of Corrections was shot and killed when he answered the front door of his home, and police were searching today for the gunman.

Tom Clements was shot about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night at his home in Monument, north of Colorado Springs, said Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Kramer.

A family member called 911 to report the shooting and officers found 58-year-old Clements dead in his home, he said. Search dogs have been called in to comb through a wooded area around Clements’ home, and authorities were going house to house trying to find out what neighbors heard.

Gov. John Hickenlooper appointed Clements to the post in 2011 after he served for more than three decades in the Missouri Department of Corrections.

The department operates 20 adult prisons and a juvenile detainment system.

In a statement early today and sent to department employees, Hickenlooper said he was in disbelief over the killing.

“As your executive director, he helped change and improve (the department) in two years more than most people could do in eight years. He was unfailingly kind and thoughtful, and sought the `good’ in any situation. I am so sad. I have never worked with a better person than Tom, and I can’t imagine our team without him,” Hickenlooper said.

Clements is survived by his wife, Lisa, their two daughters and their family.