The Ottawa police major crime unit is investigating the death of a 36-year-old man at a home in the Centrepointe neighbourhood after an alleged home invasion.

Officers were called to a house at 11 Covington Pl. at 9:11 p.m. Wednesday, not far from the intersection of Baseline Road and Centrepointe Drive.

Brian Scollard of Ottawa was found in the garage, and paramedics took him to the Ottawa Hospital's Civic campus trauma unit.

Scollard later died in hospital, police said. Police would not release how Scollard died, but did say he wasn't shot.

Police arrested a man Wednesday evening but released him the following afternoon.

The man's lawyer, Paolo Giancaterino, told CBC News Friday that his client had surrendered to police and had acted in self-defence after at least two people burst into his home.

The man, in his 20s, was let go without being charged, Giancaterino said.

Blood in the garage

"I saw the ambulance people take [the victim] in the back of the ambulance, and apparently they were trying to do CPR," said Colin Fan, who lives a few doors down from the home.

Other neighbours also said they saw paramedics trying to help a person in the garage. Blood was visible on the floor of the open garage, where police were focusing their investigation Thursday.

A pair of running shoes and clothes were also visible, covered in blood.

Several neighbours said they would often see different vehicles parked out in front of the home or along the street. A red Ford Explorer could be seen Thursday morning, parked down the street and cordoned off by police.

Neighbour heard screaming

Fan said the neighbourhood, where he's lived for more than 20 years, is quite safe.

He said he saw one person drive away from the home about 20 minutes before police arrived, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary until emergency crews descended on the home.

Another neighbour told CBC News he heard screaming coming from the home around 8:30 p.m. but didn't see signs of anyone in distress.

It's the city's 10th homicide of 2018.