Los Angeles Police Investigate 3 Murder Cases in Less Than 2 Hours

Tuesday, March 23rd, Los Angeles police officers were forced to respond to three instances of homicide in less than a two hour span. According to LAPD, neither of the murders seemed to be linked, though two of the slayings do appear to be gang-related. Police have suspects in custody for only one of the shootings so far, but so far it is still too early to release any names or bail information associated with the arrests.

The first of the three killings occurred on the 2800 block of Pico Blvd, in the Pico-Union area and was reported to authorities at approximately 4:15pm. In an apparent gang-related act of violence, a suspect in an automobile intentionally sped into two pedestrians that were walking in the area.  One of the victims was killed, and the other injured.  Police were able to chase the suspect as he fled his vehicle and ultimately apprehended him on the roof of a near-by home following a pursuit on foot.

Just fifteen minutes later, police were notified of a woman found dead in her South Park home on E. 56th St, killed from multiple gun shot wounds.  No suspects have been announced in the shooting and thus far, police have not been able to determine a motive for the shooting.

The third incident occurred in the form of a drive-by shooting in Jefferson Park on Crenshaw Blvd and 29th St. According to authorities, two men driving a dark-colored vehicle opened fire on three men who were walking along the street near the intersection.  One of the three men was hit by the attacker’s fire and pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, while the other avoided being hit by the shooters.

Police have not released the names of victims or suspects related to any of the three shootings at this time, as their investigations are currently ongoing for all three crimes. 

These homicides represent the latest three in a total of 50 murders in Los Angeles since the first of the year.  Despite the rapid occurrence of these violent crimes in such a short amount of time, Los Angeles bail bonds services aren’t as busy as Tuesday’s events suggest; statistics published by the LAPD show that LA’s homicide total is still nearly 30% lower than it was at this time in 2009, and 50% lower than it was this time in 2008.