LYNN — Shortly after sunrise Monday, a man lay shot in the street, bleeding from the back of his head. A few drivers swerved around him, a witness said, but kept going.

The witness, who saw the wounded man as he drove down Chestnut Street, pulled over and rushed to his side. He barely had a pulse.

The victim was rushed to Lynn Union Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities identified him as Philip Russo, 24.

Shortly before 6 a.m., Russo was shot in the area of Kingsley Terrace, near the intersection of Chestnut and Mason streets.

Carrie Kimball Monahan, a spokeswoman for the Essex district attorney’s office, said investigators believe Russo was at Kingsley Terrace before the shooting and may have been living there.

“At this time, it does not appear to be a random act,’’ prosecutors said Monday. “This is a very fluid and active investigation.’’

No arrests had been made Monday afternoon.

On Kingsley Terrace, the apartment was blocked off by crime scene tape, and a red stain could be seen on the inside of the front door.

As the police conducted a search for evidence, a woman placed a lit candle in front of the home.

Shortly before noon, two men and one woman were escorted out of the apartment in handcuffs and were questioned by Lynn police. They were then released. The two men who had been questioned cursed as they walked across the street and joined a group of bystanders.

Neighbors said they did not hear anything unusual early Monday, and realized something had happened only when police arrived.

Juan Arias, who works across the street from Kingsley Terrace at Santo Domingo Grocery, said police told him the victim fell in front of the store, and he said that he saw blood stains near the sewer grate.

Arias said he was not aware of the shooting until he arrived for work around 8 a.m. and police told him he could not open the store until they investigated the area.

Arias, 34, said the shooting is not related to the store, but said there is often violence in the area.

“I’m not surprised,’’ he said. “This corner always has something.’’

Residents said police activity in the area — whether for drugs, robberies, or shootings — is a regular occurrence.

“I’m moving in two weeks,’’ said 36-year-old Jennifer Lunetta, as she sat on a porch near her home and watched investigators shuttled in and out of 2 Kingsley Terrace. “This area is just not a safe place to live.’’

But Jaimee Hernandez, 23, said the city still has a lot to offer, even if its strengths are often overshadowed by violence.

“You’re going to find [violence] anywhere,’’ she said. “It just depends what you do about it . . . there are good people here.’’

Trisha Thadani can be reached at trisha.thadani@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @TrishaThadani