Long Beach streets rang with gunfire on Christmas night in two separate incidents, though no injuries were reported, authorities said on Tuesday. The Long Beach Police Department responded to a call around 9:04 p.m. near Paramount Boulevard and 68th Street where a man was reportedly fired upon after a heated exchange with an assailant. According to the Long Beach Police Department's blotter, "a brief verbal altercation occurred, which escalated when the suspect discharged a firearm towards the victim". Police managed to arrest the suspect in close vicinity to the crime scene, who was then booked into Long Beach City Jail.
Merely an hour and a half later, another shots-fired incident terrorized a residential neighborhood. Officers arrived at the 5000 block of Rose Avenue at about 10:30 p.m. to find bullet casings but no casualties. The unidentified shooter remains at large, and the police have yet to uncover the motivation behind the attack, the LBPD reported.
The LBPD asks anyone with information to come forward to help bring closure to these unsettling disturbances. In the interim, Long Beach navigates the fallout of a not-so-merry Christmas, monitoring the tint of unease that taints their festive season. For more details on these incidents, the Long Beach Police Department's ongoing updates can be accessed here.
