Witnesses to Teen's Killing Sought

Los Angeles - As many as 75 high school students may have witnessed the dispute that left a 15-year-old boy shot to death just off Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles, but deputies said the gunman was still at large today.

The shooting occurred at about 11:20 p.m. Friday in a residential neighborhood in the 700 block of South McDonnell Street, said sheriff's Lt. Mark Richards of the East Los Angeles Station.

Jessy Acosta, 15, of Los Angeles, was attending a party with about 75 other people when he got into an argument with a man about 17-21 years old, said sheriff's Deputy Johnie Jones.

The argument got physical and the man pulled out a handgun, shooting Jessy multiple times in the upper body, Jones said.

Jessy died at the scene, near the intersection of Whittier Boulevard and Arizona Avenue, according to a Los Angeles County coroner's investigator who identified the boy.

A video crew at the scene reported that dozens of high school-aged kids were witnesses to the shooting in the residential neighborhood. They were taken by bus to Garfield High School, about one-half mile away, for questioning.

Deputies asked anyone with information to call Sheriff's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.