DENVER -- A 10-year-old girl was hit by stray gunfire during a gun battle in her southwest Denver home late Monday and died from her wounds, police confirmed Tuesday.

The shooting was reported shortly before 10:30 p.m. at an apartment building in the 4700 block of West Tennessee Avenue.

"When the officers arrived, they discovered the body of a 10-year-old female who had sustained an apparent fatal gunshot wound," said Denver Detective John White.

The coroner identified the girl as Auralia Cisneros.

Friends and family members huddled outside the first-floor apartment as police investigated the shooting.

"We determined that there was an exchange, we believe, an exchange of gunfire between occupants inside the residence and (the) suspect," said White.

That contradicted earlier reports that the girl was hit by gunshots fired in a drive-by shooting.

The suspect in the shooting was described by police as a Hispanic man in his early 20s, 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 140 to 150 pounds, with a beard and possibly a goatee. He was wearing a brown or black hat when last seen.

White said the gunman fled after the shooting and said the shooting is possibly gang- or drug-related. Police were questioning several people who were in the apartment at the time of the shooting.

"We're asking that anyone who saw a suspicious vehicle last night, or heard anything unusual, that they contact police through Crimestoppers," said White.

The Crimestoppers telephone number is 720-913-7867.

The school the victim attended -- Force Elementary School -- was sending out letters to parents of other students Tuesday to let them know of her death and grief counselors were on hand to help students trying to cope with the loss.