1 Killed, 2 Hurt in Carjacking

Police searched today for two men who carjacked a car in North Hills, leaving one man dead and two others hurt.

The men on Sunday night approached a Toyota Camry that had pulled to the side of Sepulveda Boulevard, near Chase Street, because one of the occupants felt ill, Detective Gary Barthelmess said.

The four people in the car resisted demands that they turn it over, a struggle occurred, and the shots were fired, police said. The men left with the Camry, which was recovered a few blocks away behind an apartment complex, Barthelmess said.

A 29-year-old man was killed, police said. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office said today it did not yet have details about the victim. One person in the car was not hurt. Another was slightly injured, and the fourth was in critical condition, police said.

People in the area who heard gunshots around 8:40 p.m. Sunday flagged down officers on patrol. The officers went to the scene.

Carjackings have become less common than they once were, Barthelmess said.

“We haven’t had this kind of an incident in quite some time,” he said. “Carjackings are on a decline, and a carjacking with a violent conclusion is rare.”

Barthelmess credited “the police doing their job” for the decline and said, “Criminals don’t live in a vacuum.”