3 Are Killed by Gunfire in South-Central L.A.

Three males were shot to death early Thursday in South-Central Los Angeles, and police appealed to the public for help finding who had killed them.

Shortly before 5:30 a.m., residents near 87th Place and McKinley Avenue reported at least two rapid bursts of gunfire, police said.

When Los Angeles Police Department officers arrived, they found two men dead in the cab of a white Chevrolet pickup truck. They were identified as Mauro Camacho, 20, and Oscar Galeno, 27, police said. A third victim found in the truck, Freddy Reyes, 15, was taken to Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

“The biggest question is the motive,” said Capt. Terry Hara, commanding officer of the LAPD’S Southeast Division.

Detectives believe the incident began in an alley between 87th Place and 88th Street, just off McKinley Avenue. “We found some shell casings in the alley,” said Det. Chris Barling. “It looks like the shooter started there, they tried to get away and he followed them on foot. It was an assault weapon.”

More than two dozen shell casings, probably from an AK-47, were found in the alley and the street and on the sidewalk, police said.

Neighbors said they didn’t know the victims, and were not familiar with the truck. “It’s been quiet around here lately,” said a woman who would identify herself only as LaShonda. “All those shots woke me up but good.”

Anyone with information can anonymously call Barling at (213) 485-6902.

Times staff writer Jill Leovy contributed to this report.