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3 Shot & Killed on Kings Road in West Hollywood [Updated]
Crime scene tape at Melrose and Kings on Thursday evening | Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist
Crime scene tape at Melrose and Kings on Thursday evening | Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist
Detectives in West Hollywood are searching for answers in a shooting Thursday night that left three men dead inside an apartment. At 9:18 p.m., a 911 "persons down" call came into the local Sheriff's Department, which dispatched deputies to 612 N. Kings Road, just south of Melrose Avenue.
"When deputies arrived they found three males suffering from gunshot wounds. Unfortunately, all of them were pronounced dead at the scene," said Homicide Lt. Patrick Nelson at about 12:30 a.m. Friday. He said the victims still had not been identified.
[Update, 9:25 a.m: The victims were found in different parts of the apartment and are said to be in their 20s and 30s, according to an update from the LA Times. They appear to be of Middle Eastern decent. Update, 11:35 a.m: WeHo News says the victims were found face down and that there was no sign of forced entry. Neighbors reported not hearing anything before shots rang out.]
"At first blush, it doesn't look like it's been a murder-suicide," Nelson continued, noting it would be something they would know more about as the investigation continued into the morning.
[Update, 9:25 a.m: Nelson later called the incident a triple murder. There are no suspects at this time and a weapon or drugs were not recovered at the scene.]
At least two other people in West Hollywood have been killed by gunshot wounds in 2010, according to the LA Times' Homicide Report. One of them, 73-year-old Vera Matusevich, was shot in an apparent murder-suicide in March just two blocks north on the 800 block of Kings Road. In July, 43-year-old valet Gabriel Camaro was killed in crossfire outside the Guys & Dolls nightclub on Beverly Boulevard.
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After five years of decline, violent crime in West Hollywood overall has risen by 13.7%, West Hollywood Patch reported earlier this week..
Anyone with information about Thursday night's incident is encouraged to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.
Special thanks to LAist reader Craig Anstett for capturing quotes from Lt. Nelson.
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