“Apparently…were absolutely unrelated”

Here’s an AP version of a pretty grim tale from the streets of East Los Angeles:

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LOS ANGELES  — Two dead men at two shooting scenes, separated by less than a mile, and killed about 20 minutes apart.

Monday’s double homicides “apparently…were absolutely unrelated,” said Los Angeles County sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore.

But some residents of the neighborhood in East Los Angeles aren’t so sure.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” Martha Montes, 43, said as she waited behind the crime tape where two men were found dead in the street. “I can’t believe this is not connected. Two shootings like this, only blocks away?”

The first shooting occurred around 1:20 p.m. at a used car dealership, where two men were found dead in the garage area, said Lt. Dave Coleman.

The owner of Jesse’s Auto Sales on East Olympic Boulevard reported that two cars were missing from the lot, and detectives think the gunmen stole those vehicles, Coleman said.

The victims’ identities were not immediately released.

“I can’t believe there are two here and two down there,” said Cynthia Szukala said as she stood near the dealership.

The second shooting occurred about 20 minutes later less than a mile away.

Sheriff’s deputies found two male victims in the street on South Herbert Avenue but weren’t sure of the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

No arrests were reported Monday in either case.

From KNBC:

All of the victims are Latino men, according to sheriff’s deputies.

The suspects at the Olympic Avenue address — Jesse’s Auto Sales — took two vehicles.

One was a gray four-door 2000 Jeep Cherokee with the license plate 4LVE195, and the other was a four-door 2001 Dodge with the license 7Z41469.

Assistant Coroner Chief Ed Winter said that according to reports from the scene, the shooting at the home was gang-related, while the other was a carjacking.

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