The death of a 27-year-old Dorchester man found near the home of Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is being ruled a homicide, the Bristol district attorney announced tonight.

The DA said autopsy results ruled the death of Odin L. Lloyd, 27, was homicide

Lloyd, a semi-pro football player, was found Monday in an industrial park in North Attleboro located less than a mile from the sprawling Hernandez home.

Investigators in the case are casting a dragnet from North Attleboro to Dorchester in search of a silver mirror cover they believe broke off a car. They did not explain the significance of the item but said it might be visible from a roadway.

“I’d first and foremost like to thank the person who found my son,” said the victim's mother, Ursual Ward, outside her Dorchester home this evening. “God put him in the right place at the right time.”

Ward did not reply when reporters asked her whether Lloyd knows Hernandez either directly or through a friend. She said she identified her son’s body, but did not say whether she believes he was murdered.

“My son is a wonderful child. He hasn’t done anything to anyone,” she said.

Also today, Boston police said they are assisting state police detectives in the case.

Boston police spokeswoman Cheryl Fiandaca told the Herald today “Boston police detectives are assisting the state police assigned to the Bristol district attorney’s office.”

Earlier today a squad of state police investigators scoured the underbrush in the road near the tight end’s home.

Hernandez was questioned last night about the suspicious death of a man found less than a mile away in an industrial park Monday. Hernandez was seen outside his home today and told a Herald reporter he didn’t want to talk.

A half dozen members of the state police Emergency Response Team were seen this afternoon picking through the bush and yards of homes on Homeward Lane in North Attleboro, which is one street away from Ronald C. Meyer Drive where Hernandez lives.

The Bristol district attorney’s office said a person reported finding the dead man in an industrial park at about 5:30 p.m. Monday. The industrial park is located less than a mile away from the sprawling Hernandez home.

The DA’s office said today they have no update yet on the case.

The player’s lawyer, Michael Fee of Ropes & Gray, released the following statement today: “It has been widely reported in the media that the state police have searched the home of our client, Aaron Hernandez, as part of an ongoing investigation. Out of respect for that process, neither we nor Aaron will have any comment about the substance of that investigation until it has come to a conclusion.”

Hernandez, a University of Florida standout and former college teammate of new Patriots acquisition Tim Tebow, is not considered a suspect, according to multiple reports last night.

A rented 2013 Chevrolet Suburban could be connected to the death, according to reports.

Hernandez, who wears No. 81 for the Patriots, is recovering from an offseason shoulder scope labeled minor by some reports and attended the recent mini-camp, but did not participate in full drills.

Hernandez signed a five-year, $40 million contract extension with the team last year.

Anyone with information should contact North Attleboro Police at (508) 695-1212 or Massachusetts State Police tip line at 1-866-SOLVE-07 (765-8307).