WILKINSBURG, Pa.—Authorities in western Pennsylvania say the death of a man whose body was found in thick weeds outside an abandoned home has been ruled a homicide.

The Allegheny County medical examiner's office says 22-year-old George Anthony Cox Jr. of Pittsburgh had been shot in the head and chest.

Homicide detectives in Allegheny County said the body could have been lying outside the home in Wilkinsburg near Pittsburgh for as long as a week.

Residents reported hearing gunshots earlier in the week, but responding police officers found nothing that night.

His mother told WTAE-TV that she doesn't understand why he was killed. She said "He had a lot of friends. He'd give you the shirt off his back."