3 Killed as 2 Backyard Parties End in Gunfire

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

About 1:30 a.m., police found a man in his late 20s lying dead in the alley between Laurel Canyon Boulevard and the 10100 block of Rincon Avenue. He had been shot in the torso, Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Jason Lee said.

A boy, 17, and another man, 24, shot at the same party had been taken by private car to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Panorama City, where they died of their gunshot wounds, 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 gunshots, possibly from more than one weapon.

Neighbor Dave Nelson said he was awakened by the crackle of 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 could not identify anyone.

As police were investigating the scene around noon Sunday, a man in a small pickup truck raced up the alley. He stepped on the brakes just before hitting a patrol officer, who was shouting at him to stop.

The man apparently believed his son may have been one of the victims. “The kids are dead, and the parents don’t know anything about it,” the man shouted before driving off.

Special Investigations Division officers were collecting evidence at the party sites through the afternoon. Tower speakers were still set up in the backyard where the adult party took place. Balloons were still visible at the scene of the children’s party.

Though this part of Pacoima and the zone covered by the LAPD’s Foothill Division have become hot turf for gang violence, one resident said the area is peaceful most of the time.

“People go to work; people come home,” said Jose Mena, a Rincon neighborhood 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.”

Police released few details about the shooting, and no arrests had been made by late Sunday.

Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call Foothill Station detectives at (818) 834-3115.

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Times staff writer Dalondo Moultrie contributed to this story.