The person was found near a rear bedroom after officers entered and searched the Malta Street property.
BOSTON — Boston homicide detectives are investigating the death of an unidentified person who was found with a gunshot wound inside a Mattapan rental property Saturday afternoon, according to police information released after the discovery.
The investigation began after someone walked into the Boston Police Department’s District E-18 station and reported that a person had been shot. Officers went to the Malta Street home shortly before 2 p.m., entered the building and conducted a protective sweep. They found the person’s body in a second apartment near a rear bedroom.
An autopsy was performed Sunday at the Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The cause of death was determined to be a single gunshot wound, according to a police report cited by CBS News Boston. The medical examiner had not determined the manner of death as of Monday, pending additional forensic testing.
Police have not publicly identified the person who died. A police report described the person as “known to the Commonwealth,” but authorities did not explain that wording or release details about the person’s connection to the state. The person’s age, gender and place of residence also had not been announced.
Investigators have not disclosed when the shooting occurred, whether anyone else was inside the building at the time or who reported the incident. Police also have not announced an arrest, identified a suspect or released information about a possible motive. The department’s homicide unit is handling the case, but that assignment does not by itself establish that the death was a homicide.
Police initially described the call as a request to “investigate a person.” Officers found the person dead after arriving at the property at about 1:52 p.m. Saturday. A police cruiser remained outside the home later that day, and crime scene tape restricted access to the building while investigators worked at the scene.
The property is owned by Conan Harris, the husband of Democratic U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts. City property records list Harris as the owner. Pressley and Harris do not live at the address, and available reporting describes the building as a rental property.
Authorities have not said Harris, Pressley or the property’s real estate representatives had any role in the events surrounding the death. No information released by police has connected the couple to the shooting or suggested that either was present when officers arrived.
“The Congresswoman extends her deepest condolences to the impacted family,” a spokesperson for Pressley said in a statement Saturday night. The statement did not address the circumstances of the death or provide information about the person who was found.
Police had released no further findings about the identity of the person, the manner of death or the circumstances of the gunshot as of Monday morning. The case remains under investigation while authorities await additional forensic results.
Author note: Last updated July 20, 2026.