MIAMI -- A mystery is brewing from Miami to Iraq, where a local member of the U.S. Marine Corps was found dead at a military facility.

The Department of Defense said Thursday that 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Nelson M. Lantigua of Miami died on Tuesday in Anbar province.

Lantigua was found shot to death, face down, in a bed inside the military facility to which he was assigned in Iraq, Local 10's Terrell Forney reported.

Officials said Lantigua died of a single gunshot. No other details have been released and the incident is under investigation.

Military officials have called it a non-hostile incident and non-combat related, which raises questions for Lantigua's family. The 20-year old joined the U.S. Marines after graduating high school in Miami and was nearing the end of his first deployment to Iraq when he died.

Lantigua was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10 Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune.

Relatives said they have received few answers about what happened. Milagros Santos, Lantigua’s cousin, said her family last spoke with him over the weekend. They said that all had seemed well with Lantigua until two military officers knocked on the family’s door this week to say he had been found dead.

“He was going to be here Monday and it’s just shocking how he was going to be here so fast and then that happened," Santos said.

On his Facebook page, Lantigua wrote, “He who shall bleed with me in battle shall forever be my brother.”

“He was a really nice guy, and he didn’t deserve what happened,” Santos said.

Representatives of the Department of Defense said it would be a few more weeks before they release a final report on the case.

Lantigua married his long-time girlfriend shortly before his deployment to Iraq. His body will be shipped to his native Dominican Republic for burial.