3 DEAD IN FAMILY SHOOTING.

Byline: Kristopher Hanson and Jason Kosareff Staff Writers

A 70-year-old grandmother shot and killed her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend Saturday before turning the gun on herself in a grisly murder-suicide, police said.

The shooter's two grandchildren were reportedly inside the apartment in the 1000 block of West 23rd Street during the slayings but managed to escape before the grandmother committed suicide, said Lt. Faryl Fletcher of the Los Angeles Police Department's Harbor Division.

Carmen Foy, 70, Annette Metoyer, 43, and an unidentified man, 42, were found dead at about 10 a.m. by SWAT team members, who initially believed the shooter was holed up inside the harbor-area triplex. Foy's grandchildren, ages 5 and 13, apparently escaped before officers arrived.

Each of the victims lived in the apartment, neighbors said.

The male victim's identity was withheld, pending family notification.

Police first arrived at about 9:15 a.m. Officers thought the shooter was alive and did not enter until it appeared safe, said Los Angeles police Officer Eduardo Fuenes.

``They called in the SWAT team . . . when they entered the apartment, they found three adults who had been killed by gunfire. At this time, it is believed to be a murder-suicide,'' Fuenes said.

``One person was in the hallway, one person was at a bedroom door and the last person was on the other side of the bed,'' said Los Angeles police Sgt. Andy Simon of the Harbor Station.

``It was one of those tragic kind of scenes,'' said Simon.

Neighbors described the apartment's tenants as having troubled relationships.

``They just weren't very sociable,'' said Steve Aranda, who lives a few doors up and maintained their garden for a while. ``These people were really to themselves.''

Neighbor Felicia Grundtisch said, ``The children never came out.''

Grundtisch, whose apartment is within 15 feet of the unit where the murders took place, said she often overheard arguments.

The grandmother often argued with two young girls, Grundtisch said. The grandmother also had trouble with the boyfriend, neighbors reported.

``The boyfriend moved in not too long ago,'' Grundtisch said.

Despite the arguing, no one anticipated a shooting.

``I've lived here seven years, nothing like that ever happened,'' said neighbor Zoran Mihailovic as he watched police come and go from the blocked-off crime scene.