Homicide detectives are investigating a suspicious death after a man was found on a sidewalk north of downtown Edmonton early Saturday morning with 'signs of trauma to his body.'

Edmonton police tell CTV News they received a call about a man in distress at around 2 a.m. Saturday, in the area of 107 Avenue and 103 Street.

A pedestrian had seen a man lying on a sidewalk outside of a Servus Credit Union in the area and thought the man was drunk.

Police say when officers arrived they found the man dead on the sidewalk and evidence near the body prompted officers to call in the homicide unit.

“There are signs of violence in the immediate vicinity of the body and because of that homicide has taken the lead on this investigation,” said EPS Insp. Brian Nowlan.

Police tape surrounded a large area around 107 Avenue and 104 Street Saturday, as investigators tried to piece together what may have happened to the man before his death.

"It’s a precaution to see if this individual was wandering around prior to him collapsing," Nowlan said.

Residents who spoke to CTV News say they're not surprised to hear that a man had died in the area.

"There's obvious things about this area," said Gary Soo. "I'm not saying nothing's being done about it but it just seems to reoccur often."

Sabrina Soo said she heard police car sirens and saw officers blocking off the road.

"I woke up my brother and we saw the body," Soo said.

"There's a lot of crime and sketchy people all over, so it makes coming and going really inconvenient because you don't even want to go outside."

Deryk Yim said his girlfriend, who lives in the area, is afraid to walk alone at night.

"It's pretty bad here so I always walk her home and then everytime I stay over, I see this kind of stuff," Yim said.

The man's body was removed from the scene by 11 a.m. and the area was cleared by about 2:30 p.m.

Police say a vehicle was taken in for examination and officers had been going door-to-door since early Saturday morning trying to identify witnesses.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Edmonton Police Service at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

The identity of the man and cause of death have not yet been released.

An autopsy has been scheduled for Monday.

If the death is confirmed as a homicide, it would be Edmonton's 27th of the year.

With files from Breanna Karstens-Smith