East Los Angeles was shaken Monday afternoon by two shootings that occurred less than a mile from each other and left four people dead within a 20-minute span.
The first happened about 1:20 p.m. at Jesse's Auto Sales in the 5100 block of Olympic Boulevard, where a gunman opened fire and killed two men. Authorities said two cars were missing from the lot and that they were investigating whether robbery might have prompted the gunfire.
The two missing vehicles were described as a 2001 white Dodge Dakota pickup, license plate number 7Z41469; and a 2000 gray Jeep Cherokee, license 4LUB195.
"The owner came back, the place was ransacked, two cars were missing and two people were dead," said Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
A young man, Brandon Garcia, rushed to the dealership after the shooting and said his 50-year-old uncle, a salesman there, had been one of the two men slain.
The second shooting occurred about 20 minutes later in the 1200 block of South Herbert Avenue, about a block from Eastman Avenue Elementary School.
Sheriff's deputies found two male victims in the street but weren't sure of the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
Whitmore said the shootings "apparently . . . were absolutely unrelated."
But the two double homicides in broad daylight in such proximity to each other left many residents wondering if there was a connection.
"I don't think it's a coincidence," Martha Montes, 43, said as she waited behind the crime tape blocking Herbert Avenue. "I can't believe this is not connected. Two shootings like this, only blocks away?"
"I can't believe there are two here and two down there," Cynthia Szukala said as she stood near the auto dealership.
The shootings punctuate an uptick in homicides so far this year in the Los Angeles area.
As of late last month, the Los Angeles Police Department reported that 93 people had been killed in the city this year, compared with 69 during the same period last year -- nearly a 35% increase. Overall crime in the city has not seen the same increase.
Homicide data from the Sheriff's Department, which patrols East Los Angeles, was not immediately available Monday. But in general, homicides have been declining in recent years in East L.A. and nearby Boyle Heights, both of which are predominantly Latino.
Residents in the neighborhood of the second shooting described their area as working-class, but safe.
