SPRINGFIELD

— A quirk of geography resulted in the

Massachusetts State Police

taking over the investigation into the city's eighth homicide of the year.

Springfield police officers assigned to the North End were first to find gunshot victim Jose M. Gonzalez, 44, of Chicopee, near the I-91 north ramp off Plainfield Street shortly after 3 a.m. Friday.

But within minutes, city officers also were requesting State Police to respond the crime scene, which fell within the state's jurisdiction.

"Start us a 7 (an ambulance); we got a man down," a Springfield officer said in a radio communication to dispatch at 3:07 a.m.

Another officer firmed up the location of the crime scene. "It's the 91 north on-ramp, right behind the McDonald's (at 2392 Main St.). Looks like he's suffering from a gunshot wound," the officer said.

Within a few minutes, another officer stated: "OK, can you have them (the ambulance company) step on it. Looks like one gunshot wound to the upper abdomen. He's breathing, but he's unconscious."

At about 3:13 a.m., with still no ambulance in sight, an officer got on his radio to convey the urgency of the situation. "This guy's breathing is getting shallower, OK. Have that 7 step on it," he said.

A male dispatcher told the officer "we'll advise them again." That transmission was followed immediately by one from a female dispatcher, who told the officer, "they (the ambulance company) were strongly advised to step on it."

Gonazalez was taken by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, according to State Police, who continue to investigate.

Troopers assigned to the office of Hampden District Attorney James Orenstein are handling the probe.

State Police investigators have not released specifics of the fatal shooting, including how many shots were fired, how many times the victim may have been struck, where the shooting is believed to have occurred, or possible motives for the crime.

But initial reports from Springfield officers at the scene indicated that Gonzalez may have been the victim of a carjacking that turned fatal near the North End McDonald's.

The city's ShotSpotter system detected "one possible round" of gunfire at about 3:01 a.m., which mapped to the I-91 entrance ramp area behind McDonald's, according to dispatch audio archives.

An investigating officer said witnesses described seeing a white Ford Explorer and a black or dark-colored Nissan Xterra-type vehicle, which pulled alongside the Explorer. "After the shots were fired, both vehicles took off northbound on I-91," he said.

A short time after the shooting, West Springfield police came upon an empty SUV that had crashed into a traffic island at Beauview Terrace. The SUV was registered to Gonzalez and was processed for evidence, State Police said.

The city's latest killing was preceded by the July 19 homicide of Jermaine Cowell, a 27-year-old city resident who was shot dead near the corner of White and Orange streets in Forest Park.

MAP showing location of McDonald's in Springfield's North End. Jose Gonzalez was found near I-91 entrance ramp behind restaurant: