Burning mannequin at Florida mall reported, turns out to be dead body, police say

MIAMI — A burning mannequin was reported Monday morning to police in Pembroke Pines, Florida, but it turned out to be a dead body.

A witness reported around 7 a.m. that a mannequin was burning outside a strip mall, CBS Miami reported.

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"When the fire department arrived, they realized that it wasn’t a mannequin, that it was actually a human being who was deceased. They extinguished the fire and when police arrived, they initiated an investigation," Pembroke Pines police Capt. Al Xiques told CBS Miami.

According to WSVN, the body was of a that man between 18 and 30 years old.

Xiques said he believes that the victim frequented the area. "We don't know exactly what may have caused the victim to catch fire," Xiques told WPLG.

Police said it is unclear how the person died and are calling it "an undetermined death investigation."

"I think it’s a horrible thing to come out and see this early in the morning on the Fourth of July," Meeryl Dimperio told WSVN. "Whoever’s there, whoever’s body — we don’t know who it is, but there’s family and friends."

Cox Media Group