Police investigating fatal shooting after body found on a South L.A. street

Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man whose body was found in the middle of a South L.A. street early Thursday, authorities said.

A driver called police after she swerved to avoid hitting the body near the intersection of E. Vernon and Towne avenues about 1:30 a.m., Los Angeles police said.

The victim, who was shot multiple times, was in his 40s but has not been identified, officials said.

Officers initially thought the man was the victim of a hit-and-run driver after a witness reported seeing a black pickup truck strike him and flee, police said, but when paramedics arrived, they found the man had been fatally shot multiple times.

Police also found an airsoft gun — a replica toy gun that shoots plastic BBs — tucked into his waistband.

The motorist who placed the 911 call told police she tried to avoid the body but wasn’t sure if she had hit him, police said. After interviewing her, officers decided not to detain her. She passed a sobriety test and stayed at the scene to cooperate with the investigation.

No arrests have been made.