2 men shot, killed at Ruben Salazar Park in East Los Angeles

EAST LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Two men were fatally shot during a shooting Sunday at the Ruben Salazar Park in East Los Angeles, according to the sheriff's department.

Paramedics were dispatched at 11:11 a.m. to 3864 Whittier Blvd. They took two people to Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center, according to a Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatcher.

Deputies responded to a "shots fired'' call at the park, according to Deputy Juanita Navarro-Suarez. Witnesses directed the deputies to the basketball courts where two men were lying on the ground with gunshot wounds to their chests.

One of the men was pronounced dead at the park, according to a watch commander at the sheriff's East Los Angeles station. His name was withheld pending notification of kin.

A second man was taken to a hospital, where he later died from his wounds, according to Navarro-Suarez. His name also was withheld pending family notification.

Witnesses told deputies there three people involved in the shooting -- a "heavyset male Hispanic, a heavyset female Hispanic and a male Hispanic juvenile,'' Navarro-Suarez said.

According to those witnesses, the three people approached the two victims and began a conversation. The adult male then pulled out a handgun and fired a number of times hitting the victims, Navarro-Suarez said.

The three suspects then fled the park on foot and were seen running east towards Ditman Avenue, she said.

A motive for the shootings was not known. It's also undetermined at this point whether the shootings were gang-related, according to Navarro-Suarez.

Anyone with information on the killings was asked to call the sheriff's homicide bureau at (323) 890-5500. All tips can be made anonymously.

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