Investigation into O.C. homicide leads to apartment complex in Los Feliz

Police from Orange County surrounded an apartment complex in Los Angeles on Tuesday night as part of a widening investigation into the killing of a 23-year-old man earlier this week.

At the Parkwood Apartments complex between Ambrose Avenue and Los Feliz Boulevard, investigators were searching for a suspect connected to the fatal shooting of Israel Corpus, according to Tustin police Lt. Robert Wright.

Roughly five hours after police surveillance started, the search ended. “The suspect we looked for is still outstanding,” Wright told the Times.

“We’re following up on leads and hoping to find him at that location,” he said earlier in the night.

Tustin Police Department authorities were joined by officers from Irvine, and a SWAT team was on hand, Wright said.

Witnesses said the Los Feliz apartments were evacuated after police arrived, and it appeared that officers were using a robot to coax a person out of one of the apartments. A loud explosion also rang out.

The complex is in a typically quiet residential area at the foot of Griffith Park. The throng of police late Tuesday was a spectacle for those walking dogs or coming home from work. However, the area has seen deadly violence: Earlier this year, an employee at a nearby gas station was shot and killed during a robbery.

Wright said police were investigating the gang-related slaying of Corpus that occurred Sunday about 4 p.m. in the 1600 block of Mitchell Avenue in Tustin.

Corpus was found with a gunshot wound outside an apartment complex. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead, police said.

Multiple men in their 20s were suspected of carrying out the killing, and they fled the area after Corpus was hit, police said.

Anyone with information was asked to contact Tustin police at (714) 573-3220.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

Twitter: @MattHjourno

colleen.shalby@latimes.com

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UPDATES:

1:10 a.m.: This article was updated with a quote from police.

12:40 a.m., July 12: This article was updated to say the police search had ended.

This article was originally published at 10:30 p.m.