LAS VEGAS » Police were looking today for a tall, thin man seen leaving an alley behind an apartment in the historic West Las Vegas neighborhood where three people were killed in what investigators think was a drug-related robbery.

A man, a woman and an apparently someone dressed as a woman were found dead a little before 6 p.m. Monday in the small kitchen of the apartment on Jackson Avenue, homicide Lt. Dan McGrath said.

It appeared the three were kneeling or prone on the floor when they were shot at close range, McGrath said. A handgun was used.

The names of those slain weren’t immediately released. McGrath said they appeared to be in their 30s.

“It looks like it could be drug-related or a drug-related robbery,” McGrath said. “No drugs were found at the scene, but that’s the theory.”

Paraphernalia found in the apartment suggested the attack might have stemmed from dealing in crack cocaine, the police lieutenant said.

Callers reported hearing gunshots in the area near B Street and Owens Avenue. One witness said the man seen leaving in the alley was a 6-foot-4 black man dressed in dark clothing and a hooded sweat shirt, McGrath said.

Witnesses also reported seeing an older model red or burgundy van with a tan stripe in the area.

A police captain, Robert Plummer, spoke with residents and reporters at the scene after the shooting.

“We don’t want retaliation,” he said. “We want someone to speak up and say something.”

McGrath noted that police and community leaders have had success in recent years curbing shootings and violence in the historically black neighborhood.