LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Two men were killed and another was wounded in a drive-by shooting near the border of South Los Angeles and the unincorporated Florence area, and authorities sought two suspects who remained at-large today.
Deputies responded to the 1100 block of East 68th Street, near Central Avenue, about 7:05 p.m. Wednesday and located one man dead at the scene and two others who had suffered gunshot wounds and were taken to a hospital, where the second victim died, according to Deputy Erin Liu of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
The third victim was treated at a hospital and released, Liu said.
Family members identified the fatally wounded men to reporters at the scene as Jose Flores and Alfredo Carrera, both in their 20s.
Flores and Carrera had grown up together six houses apart on the street where they were shot, and the shooting occurred in Carrera's driveway after they had parked an SUV, according to news reports from the scene.
Flores was a physics doctoral student at UC Irvine and had his sights set on a job at NASA, and Carrera was about to become a first-time father with his girlfriend, KTLA5 reported.
According to the preliminary investigation, the men were standing near the parked vehicle when the suspect vehicle drove up and a passenger opened fire, striking two of the victims. The suspect shot the third man a short distance away as the car, described only as a dark sedan, sped away westbound on East 68th Street, Liu said.
A description of the shooter or driver was not immediately available. The motive for the shooting was not disclosed.
Anyone with information on the crime was urged to call the Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500.
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