Body Found on Fire Escape

Los Angeles police said they suspect homicide in the death of a man whose body was found Thursday evening on a fire escape in a Broadway high-rise on the fringes of the Jewelry District.

“What we have is a puzzle, and more questions than answers,” Lt. Frank Spangler said about the death. “We believe that something on the order of a stabbing or a shooting may have occurred.”

Officers on the scene said “a lot of blood” was found near a broken window on the seventh floor of an interior stairwell. It was not known if the victim was thrown or fell from the window. His body was found on a fire escape landing on the alley about halfway down the United Building, at 707 S. Broadway.

The victim was described only as a Latino male in his late 20s who was wearing Levi’s and a sport shirt.

People who spotted the body called police to the scene about 6:30 p.m. Three men who identified themselves as pawnbrokers who work in the building said the building is open until 8:30 p.m., but was largely deserted.