Last night, Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) officers found themselves at the scene of a shooting and subsequent SWAT activation on Falcon Avenue. According to the LBPD, at around 9:30 pm, a call came through alerting them to gunfire in the 5800 block. As detailed in the official police blotter, upon arriving at the location, officers engaged with an "uninjured female adult victim." She reported that a man, later identified as Salvador Salazar, had fired a gun at her before retreating into his residence.
The LBPD swiftly established a perimeter to contain the situation. Attempting to call the suspect out failed, leading to the dispatch of SWAT officers to de-escalate. Deploying gas, the suspect was eventually persuaded to surrender. Following the arrest, Salazar, an octogenarian Long Beach local, was transported to a hospital by Long Beach Fire Department personnel for a medical evaluation—a necessary step before booking.
Found in possession of a firearm, Salazar was charged with attempted murder and is now facing a steep bail of one million dollars. This incident’s details were confirmed in the LBPD’s report, and the investigation remains active as authorities piece together the events that unfolded on Falcon Avenue. The victim, whose identity has not been disclosed, escaped physical injury, though the psychological toll of such an event is not detailed in the police summary.
With the suspect in custody, the LBPD is now tasked with unraveling the motive behind Salazar's decision to discharge his weapon in what the police described as a "no-hit shooting." Community members, meanwhile, are left to wonder about the circumstances that led an elderly man, who walked back into a residence after discharging a firearm at a woman, to resort to such violence. The LBPD has not released further information regarding Salazar's mental state or background.
