SAN FRANCISCO, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Police of Oakland, in the western U.S. state of California, said on Monday they were investigating a shooting incident that left one man dead near a park in Berkeley hills on Sunday evening.

       The Berkeley Police Department notified Oakland authorities of the incident and determined the victim was in Oakland, Oakland police spokesperson Kim Armstead said in a statement.

       The police were investigating the incident as a homicide, he added.

       Police found the victim off the side of a road with apparent gunshot wounds. The man died from his injuries at the scene and his identity is being withheld until his next of kin is notified, the police said.

       There have been 41 homicides in Oakland so far this year, compared to 49 during the same period last year, according to the Oakland Police Department.