A police investigation was underway on Saturday after firefighters responding to a house fire in north Minneapolis' Webber-Camden neighborhood on Friday night found a man's body inside.
Firefighters arrived about 8:15 p.m. at a home on the 3800 block of Humboldt Avenue N., police said. When they went inside, they found the man dead.
The cause of death has not been disclosed, but "we're investigating it as a homicide," said Sgt. Steve McCarty, the Minneapolis police spokesman. The victim's identity will be released by the Hennepin County medical examiner's office.
On Saturday, the house, which is on the east side of Humboldt just north of Dowling Avenue N. and across from the Crystal Lake Cemetery, remained cordoned off with yellow crime tape.
Neighbors say that the house had recently been renovated, with a new roof and siding, after it was damaged in the May 2011 tornado that swept through the North Side.
Anthony Wallace, who lives next door, said his neighbor had rented rooms to a series of tenants in recent months and was believed to be renovating the basement for his own use. He said the body was retrieved from the basement.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Minneapolis police tip line at 612-692-8477.
MAURA LERNER
