(May 2, 2009, updated May 3) -- Now, it's murder.

A brazen midafternoon Saturday (May 2) shooting in the area of 52nd St/Orange Ave. -- reported first and jointly by LBReport.com and NLBCentral.com -- has left a 25 year old man dead...and LBPD says the suspects in the crime remain at large.

LBReport.com and NLBCentral.com (an independent NLB news outlet) were first to report the story on Saturday afternoon as a shooting...now being investigated as a murder that LBPD believes is gang related.

Photo credit: Dan Pressburg

LBPD officers arrived to find a victim "suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the torso area. He was transported to a local hospital by Long Beach Fire Department paramedics, and was pronounced deceased a short time later."

NLBCentral.com was on-scene as officers first established a containment perimeter, then broke it down after determining that the suspects had fled in a car.

At dawn Sunday, the L.A. County Coroner's office said the victim was a male Black but (as with LBPD) declined to release his identity pending notification of his family. LBPD says the victim's city of residence has also not yet been determined.

LBPD described the suspects in a release only as African American males...who "fled the area in a dark colored vehicle in an unknown direction on Orange Avenue. It is believed that this incident is gang-related, however, the investigation is ongoing." LBPD adds:

"Since the shooting occurred mid-day and on a weekend, it is believed that there are witnesses that have not yet come forward. Additional witnesses coming forward would greatly assist detectives in solving this crime."

Anyone with any information is urged to call LBPD Homicide Detectives Russ Moss and Teri Hubert at (562) 570-7244.