St. Paul police were investigating a homicide Friday that took the life of a man at a home near Lake Como to which officers have been frequently called.

It was unclear how exactly the man was killed, according to Sgt. Mike Ernster, a department spokesman. He said a "certain level of trauma" indicated a homicide but that officials "do not know exactly what caused his death yet."

The death makes 14 homicides so far this year in St. Paul.

According to Ernster and a neighbor, Sean Devaney, a woman began running up and down an alley yelling about a man not breathing at around 7:30 a.m. Friday.

The woman was later taken to a police station to be interviewed but was not arrested, Ernster said.

Officers entered the home in the 900 block of Hatch Avenue, found the unconscious victim and encountered an aggressive dog. Ernster said the dog was shot and killed after it bit an officer. EMTs pronounced the man dead at the scene.

"After the gunshot went off, the place lit up with sirens," Devaney said.

Ernster said police have been called to the home 25 times this year alone, often for domestic disturbances and property crimes.

Devaney said the man who lived in the home was in his 30s and often had a partner visit. He said he frequently heard screaming and other disturbances there over the last couple years.

Many neighbors were surprised to hear of the incident Friday, and about a half-dozen attended a police news conference Friday afternoon at the scene. They said the area sees little crime other than an occasional garage break-in.

"The neighborhood is awesome. It's perfect, it's quiet," Devaney said.

Violence Free Minnesota, a coalition of 90 programs aiming to end relationship abuse, tracked 36 homicides in 2023 related to intimate partner and relationship violence across the state (www.vfmn.org/we-remember-2023). That's the highest number the state has seen since 37 such homicides were recorded in 2013.

Staff writer Paul Walsh contributed to this story.