Compton mother and daughter killed by mom's estranged boyfriend, LASD says; suspect on the run

COMPTON, Calif. (KABC) -- Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department homicide investigators have identified a 41-year-old man as the suspect in the shooting deaths of a mother and daughter in Compton on Tuesday.

Detectives say Donte Lamont Brown is the mother's estranged boyfriend and is the primary suspect in the double murder.

Authorities are asking the public's help in locating Brown, who remains at large and is considered to be armed and dangerous. Brown is known to frequent the Compton and Long Beach areas.

The incident happened at about 7 p.m. Tuesday near Caldwell Street and Central Avenue, according to LASD.

When deputies arrived, they found one woman lying in the street and the other inside a nearby car. Both had gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene. They were identified as 45-year-old La'von Hall and 22-year-old Ma'Laysia Martin.

Investigators believe the women were in a car stopped at a traffic light when Brown, in another vehicle, pulled up alongside the victims and opened fire.

"Brown fired numerous rounds into the victims' vehicle. La'von exited the driver's side of the vehicle and fell to the ground, mortally wounded by the gunfire. La'von's vehicle, driverless, traveled across Central Avenue and collided with a traffic signal pole on the southeast corner," the sheriff's department said in a statement. "Ma'laysia was discovered unresponsive in the passenger seat, suffering from gunshot wounds."

Investigators said Brown fled the scene southbound on South Central Avenue.

Debbie Shaw says she was consoling someone who knew the victims when she walked up to see what happened.

"My brother got murdered around the corner some years ago. I can't imagine the pain they were going through at the time," Shaw said. "... Just to come out here to see a mother and a daughter - that's really heartbreaking."

"It's just very tragic for our community. We don't like to hear anything like that. We don't want that sort of thing to happen in anyone's community," Compton City Councilman Jonathan Bowers said. "We've had enough violence occur here in Compton. We're not pleased with this at all."

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477), or by using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org.