Man found dead next to car in Huntington Village

HUNTINGTON, Long Island (WABC) -- Suffolk County police are investigating the murder of a man in Huntington Village early Wednesday morning.

It was anything but an ordinary day in Huntington Village with evidence markings and crime scene units blanketing the roadway on the north side of Main Street. It's where shops, movies and restaurants are usually the norm, not violent crime.

We don't get this kind of stuff around here, very safe; you can walk around all the time, no problems. I don't know, I can't imagine what happened," said John Franco, a Lloyd Harbor resident.

Police tell Eyewitness News, it was just after 3 a.m. when a call came in about a 39-year-old man with a bloody face, lying outside a bar on the ground near his car, a 2015 Mercedes, with the door wide open.

"Two people who were uninvolved, the bar was also uninvolved, that should be noted, two pedestrians walking and noticed it, came upon it," said Lt. Kevin Beyrer, Suffolk County Police Department.

Police now identify the victim as 39-year-old Edwin Rivera of Bay Shore.

But with all the uncertainty surrounding his murder there is uneasiness and questions, most importantly; people want to know if it was a random crime or someone Rivera knew.

"It's very scary. Like to know what happened, hoping the details come out," said Joseph Schuktz, a Huntington resident.

The Suffolk County Medical Examiner will perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

The investigation is continuing, and anyone with information is asked to call Homicide Squad detectives at 631-852-6392 or call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.