Body parts found in suitcase, and nearby, in SoMa

San Francisco Police investigate a suitcase full of body parts found on 11th Street near Mission Street in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, January 28, 2015. San Francisco Police investigate a suitcase full of body parts found on 11th Street near Mission Street in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, January 28, 2015. Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Body parts found in suitcase, and nearby, in SoMa 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

San Francisco police discovered a suitcase full of body parts in the South of Market area on Wednesday night and then found more remains nearby, officials said.

The case is being treated as a homicide after police responded to a call of a suspicious package about 4:15 p.m. and found a roller-type suitcase amid garbage and debris on 11th Street between Market and Mission streets. It contained “dismembered body parts of a human being,” but the gender and race of the victim were not immediately known, said police spokeswoman Officer Grace Gatpandan.

After the grisly discovery, 11th Street was shut down and officers began a search of the area. They found more body parts, but they would not say what they were or where they were found.

Homicide detectives were at the scene and trying to recover surveillance footage from nearby businesses, Gatpandan said, and investigators had a rough suspect description, though she said police were not releasing it as the investigation was ongoing.

Mission and 11th streets remained closed late Wednesday as homicide detectives continued their probe.

“Investigators are still searching to determine if there are any other body parts in the area,” Gatpandan said. “This was an extremely gruesome crime scene.”

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale