UPDATE: Homeless Man May Have Been Fishing for Coins When He Died in Fountain

As dawn broke on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year, LAFD and LAPD officials made a grisly discovery on Ventura Boulevard when a man's lifeless body was found in a fountain outside a shopping center in Studio City.

The body was discovered about 7:15 a.m. at 12265 Ventura Blvd., just west of Laurel Canyon, said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The shopping center, known as the California Pavilion, is right in the middle of Studio City's posh shopping district. As workers cleaned the windows and were inside getting ready for the busy day, just a few feet away outside the door, the man's body was outside lying on the ground, covered.

According to an LAFD alert, the body was discovered in the fountain. When Patch arrived at the scene at about 7:45 a.m., the body had already been removed from the fountain.

The ranking LAPD officer on the scene did not comment and said that homicide detectives were on their way to the scene. Fox 11 News reported the LAPD did not think foul play was involved.

The cause of death was not immediately known, Humphrey said.

The water in the fountain is not deep, but people are known to throw coins in it to get their wishes. Police said an autoposy may not be completed until Monday.

—City News Service contributed to this report.