A man was fatally shot in Dolores Park Wednesday night, in a rare event for the area but neighbors say they have been asking for more police presence around the park.

The shooting happened just after 10 pm on the 20th Street end of the park, possibly along the block between Dolores and Church Streets. NBC Bay Area says that police responded to the 500 block of Dolores Street, which is the adjacent side of the park.

The victim was reportedly a 19-year-old male, as Supervisor Rafael Mandelman confirmed to SFGate.

Neighbors reportedly heard an explosion, like a firework, followed by one or two gunshots.

The victim was found on the ground suffering from at least one gunshot wound, and died at the scene despite lifesaving efforts by paramedics.

"We hear quite regularly from people who have different concerns about different aspects of public safety at the park," Mandelman said in a statement to SFGate. "There have been shootings there in the past. It has been quite a stretch now where we haven't been dealing with this, and I hope it's not a harbinger for things to come. All of that said, Dolores Park is a safe, wonderful park. It's a gem. It's generally a safe place, but periodically terrible things have happened there."

Mandelman is likely referring to a shooting that occurred in Dolores Park in 2017, during the middle of the day in August 2017, that left three injured. There was also a shooting in the park in July 2015 that left two men injured.

There was an era over 20 years ago when the park was known to be extremely sketchy, especially at night, but in more recent years it has been relatively safe and quiet neighborhood, where neighbors can be seen walking their dogs at all hours.

Anyone with information about Wednesday's shooting is asked to call the San Francisco Police Department tip line at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and start the message with SFPD.

This was San Francisco's 14th homicide of the year to date. At the same point last year there had been 21 homicides in the year.

Photo: Dan Dennis