Pacoima - On Sunday, January 14, 2001, at approximately 1:30 a.m., Foothill Area patrol officers responded to a radio call of an "Assault with a Deadly Weapon/ Shots Fired," in the 10100 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Pacoima. Upon arrival at the scene, Officers discovered the body of a Hispanic male in his late twenties lying in the alley to the rear of the location. The victim had suffered a gunshot wound to the torso and was pronounced dead at the scene by LAFD paramedics. The victim has not been identified at this time.

At 1:45 a.m., Van Nuys Area patrol officers responded to a radio call of a murder investigation at the Kaiser Hospital located at 8200 Woodman Avenue. Officers received information that two male victims of gunshot wounds were dropped off at the hospital by a third party. The victims' names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin and only described as 17 and 24 year old Hispanics.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the deaths of all three victims are related. All victims were attending a private party held at a residence in the 10100 Rincon Avenue when unknown suspect(s) fired numerous rounds at them. As the result, one victim died at the scene and two others were transported by a private vehicle to Kaiser Hospital where they succumbed to their injuries.

The motive for the crime has not been established.

Detectives from Foothill Operations Support Division are handling the investigation and are seeking assistance from the community. Anyone with information that may assist in the investigation is urged to contact Foothill Detectives J. Martinez and J. Morales at 818-834-3115 or 818-834-3105 during daytime hours. The evenings phone number is 818-756-8861.

This Press Release was prepared by Public Information Officer Jason Lee, Media Relations Section, 213-485-3586.