MPD officials are searching for suspects and a motive in the possible murder of a man who was found dead overnight in the heart D.C.'s Trinidad neighborhood.

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Police believe that the 36-year-old man, who has not yet been identified, was beaten to death in the 1500 block of Oates Street NE. After being found unconscious in an alley, the victim was rushed to an area hospital where he later died.

The crime has residents of a long-trouble community in fear of a springtime spike in violence.

"We want to live in a safe neighborhood," Trinidad resident Rufus Hayes said. "That's a lot of drama."

A friend of the victim, who didn't want to be identified, admitted that the man was mixed up in a dangerous world that included drugs.

Four years after D.C. police tried to quell the deadly violence in Trinidad with checkpoints, new development is attempting to give the area a facelift. However, longtime residents worry the city hasn't done enough to remove the dangerous stigma that surrounds them.

"They need to clean up this area," resident James Singletary said.

After the victim was found overnight, Trinidad residents were startled by knocks on the door, but not surprised to see an all-too-common scene.

"We don't want nothing happening...somebody looking for somebody else," Hayes said.