Portland police believe a shopper found dead Monday in a Fred Meyer parking lot in Northeast Portland was shot and killed while trying to stop a purse snatching. The initial investigation suggests Jonathan Trent, 47, witnessed the robbery and intervened, police said Thursday. A suspect or suspects shot him before fleeing, they said.

After responding to a report of a robbery and "shots fired," Portland police said they found a man lying on the ground. His death has now been ruled a homicide.

Portland Police investigators have launched a homicide investigation following a suspicious death case at a Northeast Portland Fred Meyer store.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A man is dead after a shooting at a Northeast Portland Fred Meyer Monday, Portland police announced. Authorities say the circumstances around the death are “suspicious.”

Portland police have identified the man whose “suspicious death” at the Gateway Fred Meyer on Monday is now considered a homicide, according to investigators.