A 25-year-old man died under suspicious circumstances Thursday behind a Mission Valley grocery store, authorities said.
Officers responding to a report of an unconscious person found the man on the east side of the Food 4 Less in the 7700 block of Hazard Center Drive about 7:30 a.m., according to the San Diego Police Department.
The man, whose name was withheld pending family notification, died at the scene, SDPD Lt. Lou Maggi said.
Based on unspecified "items" found near the man, officers initially believed he had succumbed to a drug overdose, according to police. However, after further examination, officers suspected the man might have been assaulted and alerted homicide detectives "out of an abundance of caution," the lieutenant said.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
A ruling on the man's cause of death was on hold pending autopsy results.
Police are asking anyone with information about this incident to call the Homicide Unit at 619-531-2292 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
