1 teen killed, 2 critically injured in South L.A. shooting, police say

Los Angeles police detectives investigate the scene where three teens were shot, one fatally, in front of a strip mall at 60th Street and Vermont Avenue.

April 4, 2017 11:20 PM PT

A 15-year-old boy was killed and two other teenagers were critically wounded Tuesday afternoon when a gunman opened fire in South Los Angeles near a cluster of schools, police said.

About 10 gunshots were heard just before 4 p.m. at a strip mall near 60th Street and Vermont Avenue, said Officer Mike Lopez, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.

The location is near John Muir Middle School and Augustus Hawkins High School. Aerial images broadcast by local television stations showed a school bus near the scene.

The victims were two boys and one girl, Lopez said. All three victims were rushed to a hospital in critical condition.

At the hospital, the 15-year-old boy died, Officer Tony Im said. The medical status of the other two teens was not immediately available, but earlier, police said their condition had stabilized.

“School had just gotten out, so there was a lot of people out here and a lot of potential victims,” LAPD Deputy Chief Phillip Tingirides told KTLA-TV. “We have three that were hit and I’m just grateful there weren’t more that were hit.”

It’s unclear what precipitated the shooting or if the victims were connected to the nearby schools.

The gunman was believed to be a black male wearing jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. He remains at large, and police did not release additional information about him.