Vermont State Police and St. Johnsbury police are investigating a suspicious death reported late Monday night in St. Johnsbury.
State police said the investigation began around 11:15 p.m. Monday when police received a 911 call reporting a shooting at an apartment building on Summer Street. St. Johnsbury officers responded and found a man dead at the scene. State police were then called in to head up the investigation.
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St. Johnsbury, a town of about 7,300 residents, is located in Caledonia County in northern Vermont near the New Hampshire border.
State police said their initial investigation indicates that the death was an isolated event and there is no threat to the public.
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They said they believe the shooting was drug-related, and the apartment in question was targeted.
"Individuals have told police that a masked man arrived at the building, forced his way into an upstairs apartment, and an altercation occurred with the occupants," state police said in a press release. "Neighbors reported hearing multiple gunshots. When St. Johnsbury Police Department officers arrived, they found a masked man dead at the bottom of an interior staircase."
Police said they are familiar with the location where the shooting occurred and have responded there on multiple occasions within the past year.
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The victim's identity is not yet known. State police said the body will be brought to the state medical examiner's office in Burlington where an autopsy will be performed on Wednesday to determine the cause and manner of death and help with a positive identification.
No further details were immediately available. Anyone with information that could assist investigators is asked to call state police at 802-748-3111 or submit an anonymous tip online at https://vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.
