Long Beach saw a surge of violence on Halloween night, with the Long Beach Police Department reporting three shootings, a stabbing, and an assault within just hours of each other. According to a police blotter released by the LBPD, the harrowing series of incidents began with the shooting of a 16-year-old boy who was hit by gunfire on the 300 block of West 14th Street and ended with an adult male victim of battery on the 200 block of Pine Avenue.
The teenage victim, who was shot around 9:47 p.m., was treated at a local hospital for an injury to his upper body, while officers who arrived at the scene thereafter managed to piece together the location of the crime, despite suspect information and motive remaining elusive. Shortly thereafter, at approximately 11:06 p.m., the LBPD had to contend with another shooting on the 800 block of Via Wanda where they found evidence of the gunplay but were left without victims or suspects at the scene; the injured party, a male adult victim, had made his own way to the hospital suffering from a lower body gunshot wound. Similarly, the motive for this shooting remains unknown.
In another part of the city, a stabbing in the 6900 block of Orcutt Avenue left one man with upper body wounds just minutes after the second shooting. The Long Beach Fire Department responded to transport the victim, who was attacked while sleeping and is believed to be experiencing homelessness, just like the alleged assailant. Investigators are reconciling the traces of clues to uncover the perpetrator and the reasons behind this violent act. In a night that apparently refused to relent, a woman was treated for a gunshot wound to her lower body at 1:53 a.m., with the facts of her case including the location of her shooting and details of the shooter, shrouded in mystery.
The final reported incident led officers to the 200 block of Pine Avenue where an adult male was the victim of an assault at about 2:09 a.m. The victim's injuries warranted hospitalization, but the suspects had fled prior to police arrival; the investigation into the assault continues as detectives seek to unveil the suspect or suspects and piece together what sparked this physical attack.
