1 dead, 1 wounded in South Los Angeles after shooting stemming from attempted car theft

One person was killed and another was wounded when they were shot during an attempted car theft in South Los Angeles on Saturday night. 

It happened at around 9:20 p.m. in an alleyway near the 8000 block of S. Hooper Avenue, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. 

Deputies were called to the area after learning of a gunshot victim, and arrived to find two males suffering from gunshot wounds. One of the victims was pronounced dead at the scene, while the other was hospitalized with lower body injuries, deputies said. 

Neither of the victims has yet been identified. 

"Investigators learned the victims were alerted to the sounding of a car alarm to their vehicle that was parked in the alley," deputies said in the news release. "They observed three suspects attempting to steal their vehicle."

When the two victims confronted the suspects, deputies say that a fourth suspect, who was standing near the south entrance of the alley, produced a gun and opened fire. 

One of the victims returned fire "in what appears to be self-defense," deputies said. 

The suspects fled from the area in a red or burgundy four-door coupe, according to investigators. They were headed west on 81st Street. 

Anyone who knows more was asked to contact LASD's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.