A 37-year-old Courtenay man is in custody after police discovered a 25-year-old man deceased outside a residence on the 500 block of 6th Street early Friday morning.

Const. Rob Gardner of the Comox Valley RCMP said both males were known to each other.

No charges have been laid yet, but Gardner added the investigation is in its early stages and the Comox Valley RCMP Forensic Identification Section along with the General Investigation Section is assisting with the file.

鈥淭he residence is known to us. We do respond to various calls and have in the past,鈥� he explained, but added there is no public safety issue.

A man who lives in the residence and who asked not to be identified told The Record the 25-year-old was stabbed with a knife.

鈥淚 tried to save his life, but he was gone already,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 still in a state of shock. It鈥檚 hard to really comprehend what really happened, happened. But it did happen, and now we just have to carry on and deal with it.鈥�

He added he has been living in the residence for about two months, and admitted it has a reputation for being a rough place to live.

鈥淭here鈥檚 lots of people who come and go, but we were trying to clean it up. The fact that we weren鈥檛 letting people come and go as they please, we were kicking people out and that鈥檚 what kind of led to this. It鈥檚 unfortunate.鈥�

The investigation will continue throughout the weekend.