LONG BEACH (CBS) -- Five people were found dead from gunshot wounds Sunday in an encampment nestled amongst freeway ramps in Long Beach, police said.
Police responding to an anonymous call found five dead adults in a makeshift camp occupied by the homeless.
The crime scene is in a brush-filled area between some commercial buildings and a freeway interchange on West Wardlow Road just east of Santa Fe Avenue, according to Long Beach police Sgt. Dina Zapalski.
Officers including Deputy Chief Robert Luna and officials from the Los Angeles County coroner's office were on scene gathering information and have confirmed that the victims suffered gunshot wounds but have no details as to their gender or ages.
The speed of the investigation was somewhat hampered by the dense brush in the area, Zapalski said. The call was received at 8:30 a.m., and news media were first informed of the murders after 1 p.m.
The police are treating the deaths as a multiple homicide.
The area under investigation was adjacent to the interchange of the San Diego (405) and Long Beach (710) freeways. The collector road on the southbound 405 was closed at Santa Fe Avenue, as were ramps to and from surface streets in the area and the transition road from the southbound 405 to the northbound 710.
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