HOUSTON – A body was found near a northwest Houston neighborhood park.
A passerby spotted the body on the side of the road in the 3800 block of Peppermill and Pitner, just feet from Lee Park, at 11:45 p.m. Monday.
Detectives said the victim was shot one time in the chest. They do not know if he was dumped at the park or if the shooting occurred somewhere else.
"There's a male laying on the ground. He's deceased and there is not that much information to go on," said Paul Vela with the Houston Police Department. "We don't have the actual evidence to prove that he was shot here. He could have been tossed out. He could have been shot here. At this point, we don't know that."
Neighbor Richard Sharpe has lived in the area for more than 15 years.
He told Local 2, "It's pretty sad to see something like that. I hate to see something like that. We keep our eyes open around here in this whole neighborhood."
The victim had no identification when crime scene units processed the scene.
The medical examiner will perform an autopsy, which could help identity the victim.
Detectives said they will canvass the neighborhood again later Tuesday to see if anyone saw anything.
"Until we speak with the neighbors, and hopefully, we're hoping they heard something last night -- so until we get to speak with them, then we'll know the leads we have," Vela said.
Anyone with information in this case is asked to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.