2 Killed, 2 Injured at Party in L.A.

Two teenage boys were shot and killed and two others injured at a party in the garment district downtown Saturday night, police said.

Officers arrived at the building in the 800 block of South Spring Street around 10:30 p.m., according to LAPD Officer Eduardo Funes.

They found a group of about 100 “unruly” young people gathered in the streets and on the sidewalks.

As officers were trying to persuade the partygoers to go home, they heard a gunshot, which they believed came from inside the building.

More shots “were heard from inside the building and people began to run in all directions,” Funes said. “Several people inside the building were kicking the picture glass window to get out.”

Officers found two youths, both 16, lying on the floor inside the building, Funes said. They were taken to County-USC Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead. Two other victims were taken to the hospital for treatment, Funes said.

It was not clear whether they were shot or injured in the crush of people trying to leave the building, he said.

Police had not determined a motive for the shootings by late Sunday, but were looking at the possibility that they were gang-related.

“There were many gang members at the party,” Funes said.