Police seek help solving homicides

LAPD detectives reached out to the public Monday, asking for help in identifying suspects in a pair of double homicides.

In March 2003, gunmen opened fire with assault rifles on two men in a passing car near 88th Place and Wall Street. Both men were killed and a 3-year old boy was wounded when he was hit by an errant bullet.

About five months later, gunmen walked up to a SUV at a Kentucky Fried Chicken drive-thru at the intersection of Manchester Avenue and Central Avenue and began firing at close range, killing a man and woman in front of their 14-year-old son.

At a morning press conference, LAPD Deputy Chief Charlie Beck said bullet shell casings found at the two crime scenes confirm that the same weapons were used in both killings.

One or more of the guns, he said, have been used in “several other homicides” committed in Los Angeles, but declined to elaborate because of the ongoing investigation.

Police also refused to provide any more information on the suspects but requested that anyone with information regarding either shooting call LAPD’s crime hotline at (877) 529-3855.

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-- Joel Rubin