SAN DIEGO — A 65-year-old woman is dead after she was found shot on the sand in Pacific Beach early Tuesday, San Diego police said.

Around 12:30 a.m., police received a report that a woman had been injured in front of the 700 block of Reed Avenue, Lt. Jud Campbell said. Officers found the woman had suffered a gunshot wound to her upper body. Paramedics took the woman to a hospital, where she died.

Police are still working to determine how the woman was shot, calling the death suspicious.

“It is very early in the investigation and too soon to determine whether the woman was shot by someone else, if the injuries are accidental, or self-inflicted,” Lt. Adam Sharki said in a news release.

Authorities have identified the woman but have not publicly released her name.

A witness, Robert Lucero, was at a bonfire along with other tourists gathered in the area. The gathering was soon cut short after hearing a disturbing noise. “We were all together when we heard what sounded like a firecracker, it didn’t sound like a gunshot or anything like that,” said Lucero. 

Soon after, Lucero tells FOX 5 he found a woman lying face down in the sand, bleeding and unconscious. He then quickly took action.

“I’ve never performed CPR, so the dispatcher actually helped me perform the correct procedures until the paramedics got there,” Lucero said. 

Suzanna Stevens, who was staying at the ITH Beach Bungalow Surf Hostel just at the corner of Reed Avenue and Ocean Front Boulevard, said around 12:30 Tuesday morning, she heard the startling sound of gunfire. “When I heard it, it sounded like it was literally out of a movie. It sounded like a movie,” Steven said. 

Anyone with information about the incident was asked to call the SDPD Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

Check back for updates on this developing story.