Police have opened a homicide investigation after finding a man with an apparent gunshot wound dead early Sunday in the 200 block of W. 9th Street in downtown St. Paul.

Officers responded to an emergency call just after 2 a.m. and found a man near a loading dock with an apparent gunshot wound to the upper body, the St. Paul Police Department reported in a news release.

The victim was not breathing and unresponsive, the police department said, and was pronounced dead without being taken to a hospital.

Police secured the scene and sought possible witnesses, according to the news release. It reported that the incident remains under investigation and no arrests have been made.

Investigators ask anyone with information to call 651-266-5650.

The Ramsey County medical examiner will conduct an autopsy to identify the victim and determine the cause of death.

Police said it's the 33rd homicide this year in St. Paul.