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Man killed at multimillion-dollar party home in Lynnfield

Homeowner Alex Styller spoke to news crews about a shooting that killed a guest at a party thrown by renters at a home in Lynnfield. Keith Bedford/Globe Staff

LYNNFIELD — A house party spun out of control early Sunday as a group who said they were old college friends gathered at a modern mansion rented for Memorial Day weekend, leading to an outburst of gunfire that left one man dead, according to prosecutors and the property owner.

Keivan Heath, 33, of Randolph, was found around 3 a.m. as police arrived to investigate reports of gunfire at the wood-and-stucco home at 8 Needham Road, according to Carrie Kimball Monahan, Essex district attorney’s office spokeswoman.

The poolside home, which sleeps 11 and is on the market for $3.35 million, rents for upward of $1,400 per night. An online listing, which touts a private setting, a professional-grade grill, and a deluxe hot tub, describes the location of the house as ”one of the safest areas in the state of Massachusetts!”

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Heath was taken to North Shore Medical Center Union Hospital in Lynn, where he was later pronounced dead, said Kimball Monahan.

Authorities released little information about what led up to the shooting. State and Lynnfield police were investigating the death, but no arrests had been made Sunday evening.

A large group of people gathered Sunday night in front of an address listed for Heath, exchanging hugs and carrying baked goods. They declined to comment.

The owner of the Lynnfield house, Alex Styller, 49, said he had rented it to a group of people for what he thought was a small college reunion. He said he got a call at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday from his real estate broker, who told him there had been “a shooting in the house and somebody got killed.”

Speaking to reporters, he said he arrived to find the 5,000-square-foot house “still a big mess from the party,” with some minor damage including a bullet hole in the kitchen. He said he could not say for certain where the shooting happened.

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Styller said he did not know Heath and does not believe the renters did either. He said police told him there were anywhere from 60 to 100 people at the party. He had thought the group would be smaller — closer to 20.

“I still believe that this party got out of hand and that probably some uninvited people came in,” Styller said.

He added that the renters are “in shock” and had arranged to have the house professionally cleaned: “They’re very sorry, and they feel extremely bad about what happened.”

Styller and his wife were “still in a little bit of shock right now,” he said, standing at the end of a long circular driveway, where the home is concealed behind tall trees and shrubbery.

Styller has owned the property since 2003 and said he had the current home built on the site. He has often rented it out for corporate retreats, family reunions, and other gatherings.

He had agreed about three months ago to rent the home over the holiday weekend to a group of people ages 35 to 40. He said he met the renters and they were “very nice, very polite, very responsive.”

He said he used the site FlipKey, which is part of TripAdvisor, to connect with the clients this weekend. TripAdvisor could not immediately be reached to comment.

Styller said he has used other sites including Airbnb and HomeAway to rent the house. He said he stayed at his parents’ house in Woburn Saturday.

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A listing on Airbnb says parties are prohibited in the recently built house, which it advertises as a luxurious accommodation.

Styller said that despite the violence, he will continue to rent his home to guests.

“I just continue to believe that most of the people are great, wonderful, trustworthy, responsible, reliable people and individuals,” he said.

The house at 8 Needham Road, where a person was fatally shot Sunday during a party.Handout/Boston Globe

Globe correspondent Reenat Sinay contributed to this report. Alexandra Koktsidis can be reached at alexandra.koktsidis@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @akoktsidis.