Unarmed Guards Fatally Shot in Orange County : Violence: The shootings occurred within two hours of each other. One was killed at a movie theater; the other in a bar parking lot. Both men leave behind families with babies.

Two unarmed security guards were shot to death in Orange County within hours of each other Sunday night and early Monday morning, one in the lobby of a movie house and the other in the parking lot of a bar.

Dagoberto Carrero of Orange, 25, a former Marine and veteran of the Persian Gulf War, died in a barrage of gunfire about 11 p.m. Sunday as he stood at his post inside the lobby of the Century City Centre Theatre in Orange, police said. Investigators were looking for six teen-agers who earlier had threatened Carrero when he asked them to clear out of the theater after a movie.

Less than two hours later, Rupert Morales, 19, of Santa Ana was shot in the parking lot of Nick’s Hide Away in Garden Grove.

Witnesses said Morales was attempting to direct a car to a parking space when someone in it fired two shots into his chest.

There did not appear to be any connection between the shootings, authorities said.

Both guards were fathers of baby daughters and were praised by employers and relatives for their dedication.

Morales “never had any money; he always put practically his whole check into supporting other people,” said James Nowlin, director of security at Nick’s Hide Away.

In Orange on Monday afternoon, the shards of glass had been swept away at the movie theater by the time customers lined up to buy matinee tickets. A broken window was boarded up, and shattered doors had been replaced.

The previous night, about an hour before closing, one or more suspects shot into the theater from an outdoor walkway, police said. Carrero, who was stationed at a podium facing the front window, tried to seek cover after he was shot in the face, but was shot a second time in the back, police said.

The gunfire shattered two sets of glass doors and put a hole in the window of the ticket counter. No one else was in the line of fire; only one show was still playing, the snack bar was closed and the lobby was empty of customers. An assistant manager heard the gunfire from the theater office and called for paramedics.

Police said they were seeking six teen-agers--three girls and three boys--who a witness said had threatened Carrero when he asked them to leave the theater so that a cleaning crew could straighten up at 7:15 p.m., after a showing of “Addams Family Values.”

“They refused,” said Lt. Timm Browne, an Orange police spokesman. “He asked again and they became hostile.”

Browne said Carrero remained calm and chose to walk away. The teen-agers left the theater about 15 minutes later, he said.

Bill Bancroft, owner of Patrol One, the security guard company that employed Carrero, said the firm is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the killers. He described Carrero as “an outstanding officer.”

Carrero leaves a wife, Nicole, and 9-month-old daughter, Jerelyn. He was planning to leave his security job in a few days and go to Texas to train for the Air National Guard, Bancroft said.

Carrero, who came here from Puerto Rico, “was a young guy on his way to fulfilling the American dream,” Bancroft said.

Garden Grove police were searching for a motive in the killing of Morales.

Larry Fees, owner of the bar, said the only suspicious incident earlier in the evening had involved an underage male who was turned away at the front door and then jumped a back fence, trying to sneak in. Morales stopped him, Fees said.

Nowlin said Morales shared a house in Santa Ana with his brother and several others and supported a 4-month-old daughter, who lived separately with her mother.

Times staff writer Matt Lait also contributed to this story.