A man who may have been sexually assaulting a woman in Las Vegas was fatally stabbed after a group of citizens intervened to help the victim, authorities said Wednesday.

The incident occurred Tuesday afternoon in a shed southeast of downtown Las Vegas, the city’s police department said in a news release.

Homicide detectives learned that the group responded after hearing screams coming from the shed, the release said, adding that detectives believe the victim was stabbed during the intervention.

Everyone in the group fled before authorities arrived, according to the release.

The release does not identify anyone involved in the incident.

Patrol officers dispatched to the scene found the man who may have been involved in the assault with stab wounds in an alley around the corner from the shed, according to the release. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead.

Authorities asked people with information about the incident to contact the department’s homicide section.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com