UPDATE: LMPD says man was shot before he was found dead in burning car

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Metro Police are now investigating a homicide, after an autopsy showed a man found dead in a burning car had been shot before it crashed.

The investigation began early Wednesday morning, after the man's body was found in a burning car on Cecil Avenue in the Chickasaw neighborhood.

LMPD spokesperson Dwight Mitchell says officers were sent to a reported vehicle fire just before 4 a.m. When officers arrived, they found a vehicle on fire in an alley behind a home in the 1000 block of Cecil Avenue.

"Around 3:40 in the morning I heard three gunshots," said a neighbor who asked to not be identified because of fear of retaliation for speaking about the crime. "They were fairly close, you could tell. But didn't think that much of it because you hear gunshots a lot."

Officers called for help from Louisville firefighters and saw that a person in the vehicle's driver seat was dead.

The person's name has not been released. Police say they are looking for suspects. Anyone with information can call the tipline at 502-574-LMPD (5673).