The body of a young child has been found abandoned next to a garbage bin, with authorities investigating to determine “what the child went through”.

The grim discovery was made in a car park in Panorama City, Los Angeles on July 12 after police officers responded to a call about the child at 7am, People reported.

The boy is unidentified, but is believed to have been about three or four years old. It is unclear what condition the body was found in.

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today

First responders were called to the scene at the 8200 block of Van Nuys Boulevard, and attempted resuscitation, but were unable to revive the child who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Meghan Aguilar, a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, said the finding is “horrific”.

“It impacts every single one of us that comes to these scenes, everyone at home who hears about these scenes,” she said.

“We’ve got mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, anyone — you don’t have to be one of those to know how horrific this is. I don’t know the cause of death of this individual, again, that will be up to the coroner to determine. But no one deserves to be handled in this manner.”

Detective Aguilar said that to be left out to be discovered by a stranger is “absolutely horrible”.

Members of the local community held a vigil for the child last Saturday.

Corey Watkins, a local resident, told Californian television station KTLA5 that the tragedy “weighs on the heart” because young children are “so innocent”.

He said children “don’t necessarily know what’s going on, and they’re looking to adults for protection”.

LAPD are looking for surveillance footage from nearby cameras to further the ongoing investigation and the child’s cause of death is currently being determined by the coroner.