Two people were shot and killed early Monday morning at a Koreatown cannabis dispensary, according to a press release from the Los Angeles Police Department. At 4:20 a.m., officers from the LAPD’s Olympic Division responded to a shooting call at the 400 block of Western Avenue. When they arrived, officers found a “locked and secured marijuana dispensary.”
Police contacted a woman who said that she was an employee of the cannabis dispensary. She told officers that she and several customers had been inside the dispensary when they heard gunshots fired in the waiting room of the business. The employee and customers then escaped the dispensary through the building’s back door, according to police.
Once police officers gained entry to the business, they found two shooting victims in the waiting room of the marijuana dispensary. The victims were later pronounced dead at the scene of the crime. The victims have not yet been identified by police.
An LAPD spokesperson has reported that both victims were adults but declined to give the name of the cannabis dispensary and whether it is legally authorized to operate, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. Police did not comment on a possible motive for the crime and did not supply a suspect description.
No Licensed Dispensary On Record At Scene Of Double Homicide
A search of the Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation website revealed no licensed marijuana dispensaries listed on the 400 block of Western Avenue.
However, the online platform Weedmaps has a listing for a medical marijuana dispensary called Korea Town Exotics at 447 S. Western Avenue in Los Angeles. Despite information in the listing indicating the business is open 24 hours per day, the phone number listed was not being answered early Monday afternoon and an automated message reported that a voice mailbox had not yet been set up for the line. A request for comment sent the email address listed for the business has not yet received a reply.
Homicide detectives with the LAPD’s West Bureau are investigating the double murder. Police are urging anyone with information about the crime to contact investigators at West Bureau Homicide during business hours or the LAPD non-emergency line at other times of the day. Those wishing to remain anonymous may call L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers or give information via the website at www.lacrimestoppers.org or click on “Anonymous Web Tips” under the “Get Involved-Crime Stoppers” menu at www.lapdonline.org.
