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Father of Calif. assemblyman found fatally shot in home in Los Angeles; few details released

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Los Angeles County Coroner officials and investigators arrive at the residence of Joseph Gatto in Los Angeles Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. California Assemblyman Mike Gatto's father Joseph Gatto was fatally shot in this Los Angeles home, authorities said. Gatto, 78, was found late Wednesday at his home in Silver Lake, police said. A family member arrived at the home and discovered Gatto shot at least one time and that the home had been ransacked, police said. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) (The Associated Press)

Los Angeles County Coroner officials remove the body of Joseph Gatto in Los Angeles Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013. California Assemblyman Mike Gatto's father, Joseph Gatto was fatally shot in his Los Angeles home, authorities said. Gatto, 78, was found late Wednesday at his home in Silver Lake, police said. A family member arrived at the home and discovered Gatto shot at least one time and that the home had been ransacked, police said. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) (The Associated Press)

FILE -- In this June 27, 2013 file photo, Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, addresses lawmakers at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. Authorities are investigating the shooting death of Gatto's father, Joseph Gatto, 78, in his Los Angeles home, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, file) (The Associated Press)

Police say there are no indications that the shooting death of the father of California Assemblyman Mike Gatto was related to his son's politics.

Los Angeles police Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese, who heads the department's detectives, said Thursday there isn't any information to suggest 78-year-old Joseph Gatto's death was related to his son's job.

Gatto was found late Wednesday at his home in the Silver Lake area. A family member discovered him shot at least once.

Albanese says more than a dozen detectives from the department's Robbery-Homicide Division canvassed the Silver Lake neighborhood overnight and Thursday morning, searching for clues and witnesses. The investigation is ongoing; no arrests have been made.

Albanese says anyone with information is encouraged to call detectives.