Authorities are investigating after the body of a person was discovered inside a vehicle that was found engulfed in flames in Pompano Beach Tuesday morning.
Broward Sheriff's Office officials said deputies received a call about a vehicle fire in the 200 block of Northwest 32nd Court around 6:30 a.m.
Deputies and Pompano Beach Fire Rescue responded and found a Mercedes-Benz SUV engulfed in flames.
The blaze was so big that a dumpster next to the SUV also caught fire, officials said.
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Crews put the fire out and found the body inside the Mercedes. Officials said the body was so burned that investigators don't know if it's a man or a woman, but said they're sure it's an adult.
"We know it's an adult, the rest we are leaving up to investigators," City of Pompano Beach spokesperson Sandra King said.
Footage from the scene showed the burned out SUV with what appeared to be a red gas canister on the ground nearby.
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Residents who live nearby said they heard gunshots before the fire.
"At 6:10am I heard a gunshot, then 40 seconds later I heard another gunshot. I came outside and saw smoke and then saw the car on fire," one witness, who didn't want to be identified, said in Spanish.
“I was sitting out here and all of a sudden pow-pow-pow-pow. I wasn’t getting up to walk over there, so I called the police," resident Eric Sharp said.
Investigators have not released any other details on the fire.
The State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the incident along with homicide and crime scene detectives.
