A no-hit shooting incident rattled the 200 block of East Willard Street, with Long Beach Police Department officers narrowly missing being caught in the exchange as they encountered gunshots around 7:22 p.m. on February 25. According to official reports, the officers were patrolling the area when they heard the sound of gunfire and witnessed a vehicle aggressively speeding off. A high-speed chase ensued when the driver, now identified as 29-year-old Long Beach resident Sierra Meshay Drapers, flouted the law, refusing to yield to police.
Amid the chase gone awry, a vigilant witness noticed a firearm being hurled out of the fleeing vehicle. That same witness swiftly notified the police who were able to secure the discarded weapon. Subsequently, the Drapers' vehicle was overtaken and stopped, resulting in three subjects getting detained by law enforcement. A bystander described to officers that someone in a vehicle had opened fire at a group of minors before making a getaway in an unspecified direction, thankfully leaving no one injured in the path of their reckless disdain for human life.
Amidst the aftermath of the chaos that could have turned tragic, detectives are hard at work piecing together the links connecting the detained vehicle to the incident in question. Drapers faces charges for recklessly evading the police and the illegal possession of brass knuckles, her bail status awaiting a magistrate's decision.
Additional information released indicated that one male adult passenger, caught up in the scene, was processed at the Long Beach Jail and given a citation before being released - his crime of possessing a switchblade knife. Released was the scene of another male adult passenger, with further consequences yet to be uttered by officials.
