Two Dead, One Wounded in Drive-By Shooting Near South L.A.
Two Dead, One Wounded in Drive-By Shooting Near South L.A.
by Contributing Editor
Two men were killed and another was wounded in a drive-by shooting near the border of South Los Angeles and the unincorporated Florence area, and authorities sought two suspects who remained at-large Thursday.
Deputies responded to the 1100 block of East 68th Street, near Central Avenue, about 7:05 p.m. Wednesday and located one man dead at the scene and two others who had suffered gunshot wounds and were taken to a hospital, where the second victim died, according to Deputy Erin Liu of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The third victim was treated at a hospital and released, Liu said.
According to the coroner’s office and the LASD, 24-year-old Jose Flores Velazquez died at the scene, and 24-year-old Alfredo Carrera of Los Angeles died at a hospital.
Velazquez and Carrera had grown up together six houses apart on the street where they were shot, and the shooting occurred in Carrera’s driveway after they had parked an SUV, according to news reports from the scene.
Velazquez was a physics doctoral student at UC Irvine and had his sights set on a job at NASA, and Carrera was about to become a first-time father with his girlfriend.
“Jose was an incredibly promising student in astrophysics and was a rising star in his field,” James Bullock, dean of physical sciences at UC Irvine, tweeted Thursday. “…Jose was quite special, both because he was brilliant and because he was genuinely a sweet soul, a nice person who everyone liked. As his Ph.D. advisor, I can testify that we were fortunate he came to UCI to pursue his Ph.D.”
According to the preliminary investigation, the men were standing near the parked vehicle when the suspect vehicle drove up and a passenger opened fire, striking two of the victims. The suspect shot the third man a short distance away as the car, described only as a dark sedan, sped away westbound on East 68th Street, Liu said.
A description of the shooter or driver was not immediately available. The motive for the shooting was not disclosed.
Anyone with information on the crime was urged to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
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All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com
