Staff report

Port Arthur police detectives Monday continued their investigation of a downtown homicide, the 14^th committed in the city this year. There were only five homicides in Port Arthur in 2017.

In a succinct news release, police said they were dispatched to 400 Procter St. at 2:30 a.m. Sunday, two blocks from City Hall and barely more than that from the police station on Fourth St.

On arrival, police found the body of a 41-year-old man — he was described only as a black male, who had sustained “multiple gunshot wounds.” The victim was found in the 400 block of Fort Worth Avenue, which consists of three empty lots and the parking lot of a former bank building.

Nearby is a bus stop and a lounge.

On Monday, there was little of note left on the block, save for a lone, empty bottle of cognac and a sole, rubber glove on the sidewalk.

The victim was taken Sunday to Southeast Texas Medical Center; there, he was pronounced dead from his injuries.

“Detectives with the Port Arthur Police Department are currently handling the investigation,” police said in an issued statement.

Homicides are rare in downtown, which Port Arthur city leaders have noted as they have tried in recent years to revive interest in developing downtown property for residential and business purposes. New homes have been developed several blocks away.

Ten of this year’s 14 homicides have been cleared by arrest or have been otherwise resolved.

Most recently, two suspects in Port Arthur killings have been cleared by arrest.