Family, friends and colleagues are mourning the loss of a Toronto-raised law professor who was shot and killed in his Florida home on Friday.

Police say Daniel Markel, a 42-year-old father of two and law professor at Florida State University, was gunned down at his home in Tallahassee at around 11 a.m. on Friday.

Markel, who graduated from Harvard Law School in 2001, was raised in Toronto. He began teaching criminal law at Florida State University in 2005.

According to a statement released by the Tallahassee Police Department on Saturday, officers found Markel inside his home, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.

Markel was rushed to hospital where he later died.

Investigators said they are treating Markel's death as a homicide but have released few details about the case. They have yet to identify any suspects in connection to the case.

Friends and colleagues say they are struggling to come to terms with the sudden and tragic loss.

Markel’s friend Orly Lobel told CTV Toronto that Markel was a dedicated family man who cherished his two young sons.

"He would give up any minute to be with them and when he was travelling to a conference, he made sure to always Skype with them,” Lobel said. “I'm just devastated to think about them right now."

Meanwhile, students and faculty at Florida State University have also been left shaken by the tragedy.

“I am deeply saddened to report that our colleague Dan Markel passed away early this morning,” FSU Law School Dean Donald Weidner said in a statement on Saturday.

According to the University's website, Markel was a well-respected legal academic whose work had been published in several leading law reviews and publications.

In a statement published on Markel’s popular law blog, Prawfs Blawg, colleagues and fellow bloggers remembered Merkel as a brilliant and kind man.

"His boundless energy was at the center of this community; it made it run, it gave it life,” the statement said. “We are stunned and bereaved by his loss.”

A memorial service was held in honour of Markel on Sunday in Tallahassee.

Funeral arrangements are expected to be made by Markel's family in Toronto later this week.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Colin D'Mello