Two dead in Koreatown shooting; suspects sought

Two men were pronounced dead at a hospital Monday after being hit by gunfire on a Koreatown street, Los Angeles police said.

The victims were described by police as Latinos in their 20s.

The 1:53 p.m. shooting occurred in the driveway of a parking lot at Lucy’s Laundry Mart at South Normandie Avenue and West 3rd Street, authorities said.

Homicide Report: Tracking killings in L.A. County

The two males suspects fled on foot. Police cordoned off a wide area around the shooting site as they searched for the suspects and questioned witnesses.

It was unclear if the shooting was gang-related, said LAPD Capt. Tina Nieto.

“It’s very tragic this happened on a day we’re celebrating a man of peace,” Nieto said, referring to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

No further details were available and the investigation was ongoing.

In 2013, three people were victims of homicide in Koreatown, a densely populated neighborhood of about 105,000 residents, down from eight in 2012.

The area had just two homicides in 2011 and 2012 and four in 2010.

In contrast, in 2007 the neighborhood’s 13 homicides placed it as the 31st-deadliest in the county that year, according to Times analysis of coroner’s data collected for the Homicide Report.

Violent crimes in Koreatown have seen an uptick, including two robberies in recent weeks within blocks of Monday’s shooting, according to LAPD crime data collected for Crime L.A.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

Twitter: @josephserna