Police are releasing little information about a body found early Saturday morning inside a burning car on an elementary school playground.
The man was partially inside a burning car at a playground behind Georgetown Elementary School, 954 High Lane.
"We have credible evidence to tell us who it is," said Columbus police Lt. Steve Cox.
Capt. Lem Miller said Monday that the man had a gunshot wound, and that investigators are hoping today to determine the man's identity.
"The body has not been positively identified at this point, but we feel certain we know who this is," Miller said.
Muscogee County Coroner James Dunnavant said the body was sent to Atlanta for an autopsy, which will likely pinpoint the cause of death.
"I'm not sure if the gunshot wound caused his death or the fire caused his death," Dunnavant said. "We're waiting on blood tests to see how much carbon monoxide he had."
Sgt. Kevin Nixon, an investigator with Columbus Fire and Emergency Medical Services, said an accelerant ignited the fire inside the car. The 911 call was reported as a fire at the school at about 4:30 a.m.; when firefighters arrived and put the flames out, they found the body.
Dunnavant said the man was pronounced dead at 5:45 a.m.
Georgetown Elementary principal Laverne Brown said she met with teachers before students arrived Monday.
"We asked them to please try to keep the school day as normal as possible," Brown said Monday afternoon. She said the burning car was at the edge of a wooded area in the back of a ball field -- an area children would not see all the time. She said none of the students mentioned the incident to her Monday.
"We've gone on with our school day," Brown said.
Georgetown Elementary is a year-round school.
Distributed by the Associated Press
