GARLAND — Garland police detectives raced an oncoming storm to collect evidence linked to the violent deaths of a recording studio owner and an employee early Thursday.

A passing bicycle rider found the two well-dressed victims at the corner of State Street and Glenbrook Drive in downtown Garland around 1:20 a.m. Both had been shot.

"This is very odd for us to find two bodies shot in the street like this — first of all, anywhere in Garland, but especially in this downtown area," said police spokesman Officer Joe Harn.

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Steve Swan (left) and Matthew Butler were murdered near their studio.

Police identified the victims as Matthew Butler, 28, of Garland, the owner of the nearby Zion Gate recording studio; and Steve Swan, 26, of Carrollton, an employee at the facility that specializes in Christian music.

No motive for the murders was known, but police were looking for Swan's car, a tan 1995 Ford Crown Victoria with Texas plates S05-VCD. Call your local police agency immediately if you spot this vehicle.

Friends and family are gathering at the Zion Gate recording studio.

"His dream was to be a dad, to have a family and have a business. He did that and he was only 28 years old. I can say for him, that when he took his last breath, he was happy," said Jamie Butler, Matthew Butler's wife.

In a 2006 interview, Butler told The Dallas Morning News that he became enamored with recording in 2000 during a visit to a friend’s makeshift studio. He started his own recording outfit in his parents’ house and took audio engineering courses at Collin County Community College.

"We did one thing at a time as God provided and situations allowed," Butler told the newspaper. "We waited when we had to wait, and we kept pushing forward even when the barriers seemed impossible to break. The doors that I've seen open and that continue to open — it tells me we're moving in the right direction."

Swan, the studio engineer, and Butler recorded, mixed and mastered music for clients focusing on contemporary Christian music.

WFAA-TV's Janet St. James and The Dallas Morning News contributed to this report.

E-mail mdiaz@wfaa.com