Man Shot And Killed Sunday, Yearly Murder Total 609

City Has Nation's Highest Murder Rate

UPDATED: 8:27 a.m. PST November 25, 2002

LOS ANGELES -- Violence continued Sunday, with one man shot and killed in an alley and two other men shot and wounded, police said.

The latest killing brings the number of people murdered in the past eight days to 19 in a spate of mostly gang-related violence.

Los Angeles has the nation's highest homicide rate with 609 deaths this year, the most since 1996, and up from 587 murders last year.

Police were investigating a deadly shooting in an alley near downtown at 4:45 p.m., said Officer Don Cox, a police spokesman.

Police also were investigating two other shootings.

A man was in stable condition after being shot in the chest at 1:45 p.m. A 19-year-old man was shot several times about 5 p.m. in South Central in what police are describing as a drive-by gang shooting, said Sgt. Sam Mark.