Teens killed after funeral workers protest shootings

LOS ANGELES -- Police said gang gunmen shot and killed three teenagers within 15 minutes of each other, hours after dozens of funeral workers drove a procession of hearses to protest the high rate of inner city homicides.

Two boys, ages 16 and 17, were fatally shot about 11:35 p.m. Saturday in South Los Angeles, police said. At 11:48, an 18-year-old man was fatally shot nearby.

Two people were injured in the shootings, which police said appeared to be gang-related. They added that it was unclear whether the shootings were connected.

Earlier Saturday, funeral directors, embalmers, morticians and others in the profession drove through South Los Angeles in a parade of white, silver and black hearses before standing in silence at a graveyard decorated with black and white balloons.

Demonstrators said they organized the event out of frustration with seeing young gunshot victims arrive at their parlors.

According to preliminary figures from the state attorney general's office, there were 653 homicides last year in Los Angeles, a jump of 11.1 percent from 2001.