April 17--Los Angeles police went on a tactical alert Thursday after a series of mid-afternoon shootings in Palms left one person dead and four others injured, including one person who was critically wounded.
LAPD Lt. John Jenal said the first shooting was reported about 3 p.m. on the outskirts of Woodbine Park, located at Vinton Avenue and Woodbine Street. Officers found two victims there, Jenal said. Responding paramedics pronounced one of the victims dead.
While the officers were at the scene, a third victim was found about a block away from the park, Jenal said. Jenal said investigators were still trying to determine what happened to that victim, who was critically wounded.
"There is a report that he was possibly stabbed or shot," Jenal said. "They're still piecing together whether it was a shooting or a stabbing or both."
Minutes after the first shooting was reported, Jenal said, another shooting was reported in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven at Overland Avenue and National Boulevard. Officers found two victims there and took them to nearby hospitals.
In all, the violence occurred over a period of about 10 minutes, LAPD Sgt. Al Orozco said.
No one was in custody in connection with the attacks, Jenal said. It was unclear how many suspects police were looking for. One possible suspect was described as a man driving a light-colored SUV, police said.
Investigators were still trying to determine what prompted the violence and confirm that the attacks were related, Jenal said. The shootings occurred in a quiet part of the city, he said.
Police set up a large perimeter and were canvassing the park and neighborhoods for witnesses, Jenal said. They also were looking for surveillance cameras that may have captured the violence.
Two nearby schools -- Palms Middle School and Palms Elementary School -- were briefly locked down as a precaution, Los Angeles school police said.
The LAPD went on a citywide tactical alert after the shootings, but officials later downgraded that alert to cover only the department's West Bureau, which includes Palms.
UPDATES
6:30 p.m. This post was updated with new information.
5:40 p.m.: This post was updated with new information.
This post was originally published at 4:28 p.m. PDT.
