By Derrick Perkins (Photo/Erich Wagner)

Police have ruled the death of 40-year-old Bradley Bostick* in the West End Wednesday evening a homicide.

Officers found Bostick, a city resident, dead on the 400 block of N. Armistead St. about 5:30 p.m. after responding to reports of gunshots in the area. Discovered in the rear stairwell of an apartment building, Bostick had suffered a gunshot wound to his upper chest, authorities said.

Officials began treating the death as a homicide early on, but waited until after an autopsy to officially rule it as such. Police have not publicly said whether they have a suspect, but a department spokesman said they are making progress in the investigation.

Authorities urge anyone with information about Bostick’s death to contact the police department’s criminal investigations section at 703-746-6711 or Sgt. Michael Kochis at 703-746-6864.

Bostick’s death marks Alexandria’s fifth homicide of the year, a little more than six months after officials celebrated 2012 as the first year without a murder in decades.

-Erich Wagner contributed to this report

*Authorities misspelled Bostick’s name when they made his identity public earlier today.