A man police say was a known gang member was found dead in an alley just blocks from where a violent shooting occurred just over a week ago.

The body of Javier Palacios, 22, was found by a citizen in the alleyway near the 1000 block of Delaware Drive just off Lewis Drive around 4p.m. on Monday. Port Arthur Police spent hours at the scene, crime tape marking off the area as officers walked through the tall grass to where the body lay.

PAPD Det. Mike Hebert said they did not know if the murder took place in the alley or if Palacios was killed elsewhere and his body dumped there.

Police did not speculate on the cause of death, saying that that information would be determined during the autopsy.

Palacios was a known member of the Sureño 13 street gang and was sought on a warrants for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and evading arrest with bonds totaling $100,000 as well as a pending case for an aggravated assault that occurred about two blocks away.

Hebert said police had hoped to capture him not only for the safety of the citizens but for his own safety as well.

“This is tragic,” Hebert said as Palacios’ family members stood just across the street watching the scene.

Palacios has an extensive criminal history and was a suspect in the March 23 shooting where the victim was shot multiple times in the lower extremities with what police believe to be an AK-47. The victim lost his left leg and had surgery to save his right leg.

This marks the second confirmed homicide in the city. The first homicide was the death of Aletha Gonzalez who was killed in her home in the 2100 block of Birch Street. Her boyfriend Daniel Shackelford was arrested for the crime.