Police are calling it a "horrific" and "heinous" crime.
Officers responded at 7 a.m. to a report of a body in the 8200 block of Van Nuys Boulevard, just south of Roscoe Boulevard, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department told ABC7.
A homeless man reportedly found the toddler and had someone call for help. It's unclear what condition the boy's body was discovered in.
The officers requested a privacy canopy at the location and cordoned off the empty parking lot with yellow tape. The scene was in a commercial area that includes a nearby furniture store, a banquet hall and a nonprofit's office.
"This is horrific and it impacts every single one of us that comes to these scenes, everyone at home who hears about these scenes," said Det. Meghan Aguilar with LAPD. "As you said, we've got mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, anyone -- you don't have to be one of those to know how horrific this is. I don't know the cause of death of this individual, again, that will be up to the coroner to determine. But no one deserves to be handled in this manner."
The coroner arrived to pick up the child's body. They will determine how the boy died.
Police believe it is a suspicious death. They called in the LAPD Juvenile Division-Abused Child Unit to handle the case. They're canvassing the neighborhood, talking to witnesses, and checking for security cameras.
"To be left out and discovered by a stranger is absolutely horrible, and the detectives on this case are from our Abused Child Unit. This is all they deal with, and they are passionate about that, and I have no doubt that they will identify and hold the person responsible for this," Aguilar said.
We should learn more details about how the child died after the autopsy report is released.
"We are definitely looking for at least one suspect on this, and who knows how many more," Aguilar said.
Now, the neighborhood is trying to come to grips with the devastating loss, gathering for a vigil on Saturday night.
Neighbors tell Eyewitness News they are disturbed by the discovery. A small memorial of flowers and candles was placed near the area where the boy was found dead.
"Just the fact that it's a child, it's a baby -- I'm coming down here and I'm going to make the time for this child, show up for this child. It's such a horrible thing that happened," said neighbor Sharon Flint.
"I got really sad because I never thought it was going to be a child inside there," said Carlos Martinez, who arrived at his dental office nearby on Saturday morning and witnessed the emergency response. "There was a lot of police around the block. It was covered with yellow tape."
"Our kids are our future," another neighbor said. "You can't take anybody's life, especially a baby."