A man was rushed to the hospital in critical condition after a shooting Friday night near 12th Street and Lewis Avenue in Central Long Beach, according to authorities. The victim suffered a gunshot wound to the upper body, and paramedics transported him from the scene as investigators worked to piece together what happened.
The Long Beach Police Department reported that officers responded to the area at about 7:30 p.m. Friday, as first reported by MyNewsLA.com. Investigators did not have suspect information immediately available, nor did they have a motive, leaving the circumstances of the attack unresolved as the case moves into the hands of detectives.
A Street With a Painful History
Friday's shooting adds to a troubled recent stretch for the block. Just a month earlier, on July 14, police investigated a no-hit shooting one block away in the 1100 block of Lewis Avenue, where officers recovered shell casings after the suspects fled, according to the City of Long Beach. The same department's online blotter process explains why early details like suspect descriptions often remain unconfirmed in the hours after a shooting, since formal investigations continue well after officers first respond.
The corner of 12th Street and Lewis Avenue carries a longer, darker history than just this summer. The area was the site of a 1994 gang shooting that killed three youths and a February 2019 alley shooting that left a 17-year-old boy dead and a woman injured, according to the Long Beach Post. Farther north on the same street, a May 2023 drive-by shooting in the 2200 block of Lewis Avenue killed a 12-year-old boy and wounded a 14-year-old girl as they walked down the sidewalk, per the Signal Tribune.
Part of a Broader Summer Spike
Friday's shooting is only the latest in a run of gun violence across Central Long Beach this summer. Just five days earlier, on August 9, three women were wounded by gunfire outside a liquor store in the 100 block of Pacific Coast Highway, an incident Hoodline previously reported. Long Beach Local News reported that July alone saw police investigate two homicides, seven shootings that struck victims, and seven no-hit shootings across the city.
Those numbers track with mid-2026 statistics compiled by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, which recorded 14 homicides, 1,013 aggravated assaults, and 375 robberies in Long Beach between January 1 and June 30. That data stands in contrast to city officials' own reporting from earlier this year, which touted a 26% reduction in homicides and a 36% decrease in overall shooting incidents citywide in 2025 compared to the year before. The gap between that year-over-year progress and the recent spike underscores the disconnect residents on blocks like Lewis Avenue can feel between broader safety trends and what happens outside their own doors.
Investigation Continues
The intersection falls under the LBPD's Central Patrol Division, a unit created through a departmental reorganization intended to consolidate patrol boundaries and boost police visibility in Central Long Beach corridors. No arrests have been announced in Friday's shooting, and detectives have not released a suspect description or disclosed whether they believe the attack was targeted or random. If a suspect is eventually identified and charged with assault with a firearm, California Penal Code Section 245(a)(2) allows for a sentence of two, three, or four years in state prison, or up to a year in county jail, along with fines that can reach $10,000.
The victim's condition beyond the initial critical designation has not been updated, and police have not said whether investigators are pursuing leads from surveillance footage or physical evidence recovered at the scene. Anyone with information has not yet been given a specific tip line by police in connection with this shooting, and the investigation remains active.
