A Metro station in Long Beach turned into a scene of a police shooting Wednesday night after officers responded to reports of a man brandishing a firearm. According to the KTLA, the incident occurred at the Pacific Avenue Station, where the suspect, later identified as carrying a replica gun, was shot by police following a foot chase.
The suspect was seen with what appeared to be a gun on the platform before 9 p.m., then fled when approached by police officers, initiating a pursuit that ended in gunfire. "Officers engaged him in a foot pursuit, at which point an officer-involved shooting occurred," Long Beach Police Department spokesperson Allison Gallagher said of the confrontation. The Metro station was closed for several hours, operating again early Thursday morning.
Witness reports obtained by ABC7 suggest the man took an object resembling a firearm from his backpack and placed it in his waistband, triggering the subsequent encounter with law enforcement. Following the event, police cordoned off the area to conduct their investigation into the shooting.
The injured man was transported to a hospital and was said, to have a gunshot wound to his upper body but was later medically cleared. "We did recover a replica firearm," LBPD’s Gallagher confirmed, the object in question, having been misidentified initially as a real weapon. The presence of the replica and the nature of the suspect's actions remain under scrutiny as protocols for police engagement are continually being tested and evaluated.
As a result of the police activity near the A Line (Blue), Metro riders experienced significant disruptions. "Due to police activity near the A Line (Blue) Pacific Station in downtown Long Beach, a temporary bus bridge was activated to help Metro customers access areas near the station or connect to other transit services until the station reopens," Metro spokesman Patrick Chandler detailed in an account provided by CBS Los Angeles. Train services were delayed anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes during the interim.
The suspect was eventually booked into the Long Beach City Jail, and no officers were harmed during the incident. As investigations proceed, no further information regarding the suspect's motives or identity has been divulged.
