2 Men, Teenager Shot to Death as Gunman Opens Fire on Party

Two men and a teenager at a backyard party in Pacoima were killed early Sunday when a gunman opened fire on party-goers, authorities said.

Police found one man in his late 20s with a gunshot wound in his torso lying dead in a nearby alley between Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Rincon Avenue about 1:30 a.m., Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Jason Lee said.

A 17-year-old boy and a 24-year-old man were shot at the same party and taken to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Panorama City, where they died, Lee said.

Police did not release the names of the victims pending notification of their families.

Residents on both sides of the alley said they heard multiple shots, possibly from more than one weapon. Dave Nelson, who lives next door to where the men were killed, was awakened by the gunfire.

“I came out and saw a lot of people and teenagers running about,” Nelson said.

Jessica Lopez, a Rincon Avenue resident, said men from the backyard party had been arguing with men from a child’s birthday party a few doors away on Laurel Canyon Boulevard. Shots rang out from both directions, she said.

“It was a little kid’s party, but there were older men there drinking and getting drunk,” Lopez said.

Lopez’s cousins also reported seeing men from the two parties arguing, but none of them could identify the shooter or the victims.

Neighbors said the area is peaceful most of the time. But this part of Pacoima and the zone covered by the Los Angeles police Foothill Division have become hot turf for gang violence.

“People go to work, people come home,” said Jose Mena, a Rincon resident. “People know the mailman by name. There may have been some shootings in the past, but this is the worst we’ve ever heard.”

Special Investigations Division officers were collecting evidence between both houses through Sunday afternoon. Anyone with information about the attack is urged to call Foothill Station detectives at (818) 834-3115, Lee said.

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Times staff writer Dalondo Moultrie contributed to this story.