Man pounded on door just before shooting and fire, neighbor says

A woman who lives across the street from the East Hollywood home that was the site of a multiple shooting and fire Thursday said she saw a man who may have been the shooter go to the door shortly before the gunfire.

Maria Arguello, 60, said she saw a young man with a ponytail, dressed in black, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and carrying a duffel bag. He banged on the door of the house and then went inside, she said. She heard gunshots shortly after.

Arguello said the home in the 500 block of North Harvard Boulevard had been occupied by a succession of "young, artistic types."

The neighborhood is largely Latino, and Arguello said it used to be family friendly but had lately had trouble with drugs.

Officials said three victims were taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds and the shooter was  believed to be still inside the home.

The fire has been contained. Neighbors, including Arguello, were evacuated from their homes and nearby Harvard Elementary School was placed on lockdown.

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--  Dalina Castellanos in East Hollywood

Photo: Scene of the East Hollywood shooting and fire. Credit: Jay Clendenin / Los Angeles Times