PHOENIX (AP) — A body has been found on the grounds of the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix for the second time in less than two weeks, according to authorities.
Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said the body was discovered Monday morning in the west parking lot of the Capitol.
Public Safety officials are working to identify the body and how it ended up at the Capitol’s premises.
On July 26, another body was found outside the Capitol by Phoenix police. DPS, which has jurisdiction over state Capitol property, is investigating that case as well. The identity of that individual, as well as their cause of death, hasn’t yet been released.
Bart Graves, a DPS spokesperson, said investigators have not ruled out whether both people were experiencing homelessness or if their deaths were heat-related. The Maricopa County medical examiner will determine the cause of death, he added.
Phoenix has been enduring a record-breaking extreme heat this summer. The city and its suburbs saw 110 degrees Fahrenheit-plus (43.4 degrees Celsius) high temperatures between June 30 and July 30. The previous record was 18 straight days, set in 1974.