A man was found shot to death inside a vehicle Monday in Santa Maria, according to the Santa Maria Police Department.

Officers were called to the 1000 block of West Morrison Avenue shortly before 6 a.m., and found the victim, who had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, inside a white Toyota Camry, police said.

The man was declared dead at the scene.

Sgt. Paul Van Meel, from the department’s Detective Bureau, confirmed they are investigating the killing as a homicide, and were trying to retrace the victim’s movements.

“We have no information about it being gang- or drug-related right now,” Van Meel said late Monday afternoon.

Investigators spent several hours at the cordoned-off segment of West Morrison on Monday, setting up a screen at the site, presumably to shield the body, while battling strong winds that knocked the shelter over at least once.

The shooting reportedly involved a handgun, but police didn’t say what caliber ammunition it used. 

Police did not release the victim’s name, age or city of residence Monday. Van Meel declined to say if the suspect lived in the neighborhood where he was found.

An autopsy is expected to be conducted within a week, Van Meel said.

— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.