Man turns up dead in 7-Eleven parking lot in downtown Spokane

A man turned up dead Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven gas station at Second Avenue and Division Street in downtown Spokane.

The driver of a black GMC Yukon pulled into the lot at about 2:30 p.m. after spotting an ambulance and emergency medical technicians who were responding to an unrelated matter, said Spokane police Officer John O’Brien, a spokesman for the department.

The driver asked the medics to evaluate the man, who was in the SUV, and they determined he was dead and called police shortly afterward, O’Brien said.

O’Brien declined to say if there was any indication a crime had occurred, citing the ongoing investigation, which unfolded alongside slow-moving traffic on Second Avenue, where some lanes are closed due to construction. He said the driver of the SUV was cooperating with detectives. He said he didn’t know if there had been others in the vehicle.

Detectives and patrol officers were still on scene shortly before 5 p.m. and a forensic specialist could be seen photographing a dumpster behind the convenience store, about 10 feet from where the SUV was parked. It was a newer model and had no rear license plate.