TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A Canadian law professor working in Florida was found bleeding from a gunshot to the head in the driver's seat of his car in his garage on the day he died, a 911 call released Monday revealed.

The call is helping shed some light on the death of Daniel Markel, which police have said was a premeditated murder.

The 911 call to the Tallahassee Fire Department was made by a neighbour who was the first to find the Florida State University professor, who was shot July 18.

Markel was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The 41-year-old's death has been shrouded in mystery, with police releasing few details about the killing other than saying Markel was the shooter's intended target.

The neighbour told authorities he went to Markel's home after hearing a loud bang.

The father of two did not respond to the neighbour but was moving. The keys were in the car, a window was smashed and the door was unlocked.

The neighbour saw what appeared to be a white or silver Toyota Prius driving away.

Police have asked for help in finding the vehicle of interest, though they had declined to confirm whether it was a Prius.

Markel was born in Toronto and was a 2001 graduate of Harvard Law School. He practiced white-collar criminal defence and civil litigation before joining the Florida State law school as a faculty member in 2005. He was tenured in 2010.

Police are attempting to contact anyone with a connection to Markel or anyone that saw him in several areas of Tallahassee the day of the shooting or the previous day.

CrimeStoppers has offered a $3,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.