MORGANTON -- Burke county deputies taped off a large section of a home on Gold Mine Road after finding a man dead inside.

Sheriff Steve Whisenant from the Burke County Sheriff’s Office said “we got a call around 7:40 this morning about a breaking and entering in progress the deputies were responding to the scene and while they were responding they got an update that shots had been fired at someone and had been shot.”

He said it’s still early in the investigation, but the homeowner and his girlfriend said they were home at the time when the suspect tried to break in.

 “The homeowner reported that they had shot the person that we had found deceased during the breaking and entering,” the sheriff said.

The broken window happened during the incident.

Investigators said they've been to this neighborhood and home in the past.

 “We've had some violence there, we've had some substance abuse, some drug activity so we've been in that area quite a few times,” Sheriff Whisenant said.

Even though the body was found inside, evidence markers were laid out in front of the home

The sheriff said neighbors and the homeowner are being cooperative, they are still trying to contact the victim's family.