Police Seek Clues In Homeless Slaying
Anonymous Phone Call Leads Cops To Five Shot To Death At Encampment Near L.A. Highway
-
Photo
Police cordon off the area near a makeshift camp where five homeless people were found shot to death, Nov. 2, 2008 in Long Beach, Calif. (AP/Barbara Davidson, L.A. Times)
-
Interactive
Guns In America
State-by-state gun laws and death rates, maps of recent school and workplace shootings and facts on who's at risk.
The bodies of three men and two women were found Sunday in the space between commercial buildings and Interstate 405 in Long Beach, police said.
An anonymous call from a pay phone at about 8:30 a.m., had directed police to the scene.
"We're still trying to find out who that person was, we would love for them to come forward," Long Beach Deputy Police Chief Robert Luna said. "We believe they have more information than what they gave us."
Every day thousands of people drive by the scene, near where Interstate 405 meets Interstate 710, but the encampment is hidden by heavy brush and the crime had no apparent eyewitnesses.
"The way they were situated, it was perfect in that no one can find the crime scene or see it," Luna said.
Some neighbors reported hearing gunfire and yelling at about 12:15 a.m. Sunday.
"I heard the gunshots first, and then I heard the screaming," neighbor Tippi Briggs told KNBC-TV. "I heard a guy yell 'come on, let's go, get in the car, let's go' and then I heard the car, it just sped down the street."
Detectives have not determined a motive or identified a suspect. The bodies on Monday morning were at the county coroner's office, where investigators were trying identify the victims and determine how long they had been dead.
Some of the victims had been shot more than once, said Ed Winter, assistant chief in the Los Angeles County coroner's office.
Dozens of detectives combed the area for evidence all day and into the night on Sunday.
"Because of the rains last night and the heavy foliage in the area where the crime occurred, the investigative process will be slow and methodical," Luna said.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by bob5ford
======================
If I opened my home to them, they will steal all of my possessions and pawn them to buy heroin!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by bob5ford
===================
My guess is they are a drug freak.
Posted by Professor209
What percentage of crimes involve a motive? It''s not all about guns...
Posted by Displeased
Timothy McVeigh didn''t need a gun. But you didn''t answer my question. You say 70% of homicides involve a gun. What percent of homicides involve a motive (intent to kill)? 90%? 95%? I think you said in a previous discussion that 80,000 people die every year in the US from gun violence. But how does that compare to the number of people that died every year from violence before guns were invented? Wasn''t that number much greater throughout civilization?
Look for a rich person worried that these five might have found a way to get $1.25 in taxes from him this year.
Oh, and to the CSI believers: CSI isn''t real. And it doesn''t stop for poor trash anyway.
Explosives in the US are rarely used to kill. While 30,000 (not 80,000) are killed with guns each year in the US most years just a few or NONE are killed with explosives. The Columbine shooters had bombs too yet all the victims were killed with GUNS!~
Posted by Professor209
If you were able to somehow remove all the guns in society, would you expect to see an increase in use of explosives? My point is people are still going to want to kill. It''s what humans do best.