By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — Police are searching for a 24-year-old man wanted in connection with the shooting death of a city woman whose body was found in a house at 14 Reservoir Ave.  Wednesday night.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Juan L. Diaz, for the charge of murder. Pawtucket Police say he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Diaz was living in the basement of the house at 14 Reservoir Road where the shooting is alleged to have occurred.
The victim was identified as Mayra Cruz, 26, of Pawtucket. Police said she was known to the suspect, although their relationship was unclear.
She did not live at that address, but was visiting Diaz at the time of the incident. Cruz sustained a single gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Because the weapon, believed to be a handgun, has not yet been recovered, Diaz should be considered armed and dangerous, police said. He also has a previous criminal record, although police did not elaborate.
According to Detective Sgt. Cory Jackson, police responded to 14 Reservoir Ave. for a report of a shooting at around 9:45 p.m. Upon arrival, police found the body of a deceased female, later found to be Cruz, inside the house. It was also learned that there might be a suspect inside the residence who could be armed and dangerous.
Members of the Pawtucket Police Special Response Team arrived to secure the premises and make sure that no one else was inside, Jackson said.
The shooting, which police are now treating as a murder, allegedly took place inside a tidy, two-story yellow house situated in a quiet neighborhood at the intersection of Reservoir Avenue and Weeden Street in the city’s Fairlawn section. Jackson said Diaz was staying with the family who lives in the house.
Police declined to release further details of the crime, saying the incident is still under investigation by the department’s Detective Bureau.  However, Jackson did say that there was a “significant delay,” in terms of hours, between when the shooting occurred and when it was reported.
According to the Pawtucket Police log for 9:26 p.m. a man called to say he had accidentally shot his girlfriend in the face. However, he later became hysterical and hung up. When police and rescue personnel arrived, they found Cruz’ body.
Diaz is described as having brown hair and being approximately 6 feet tall and weighing about 200 pounds, with a medium build and a fair complexion.
Any information relating to the whereabouts of Diaz should be forwarded to the Pawtucket Police Criminal Investigative Division at (401) 727-9100, Detective Michael Kane (ext. 759) or Detective Sgt. Cory Jackson (ext. 722). If there is no answer, call (401) 727-9100 (ext. 712).