Two men were found dead inside a Long Beach home early Saturday after a man inside opened fire on police officers who had responded to reports of gunshots, authorities say. Officers retreated and called for backup, and a SWAT team later entered the residence on the 3700 block of Gardenia Avenue to find both men dead from gunshot wounds to the upper body.
According to CBS News, Long Beach police officers were sent to the area after reports of gunshots. Once there, a man inside the residence threatened to shoot at officers and then fired shots at them, prompting one officer to return fire. Officers pulled back from the home and called for additional units before a SWAT team was brought in.
SWAT Team Finds Two Men Dead Inside the Home
When the SWAT team entered the Gardenia Avenue house, they found two men dead from gunshot wounds to the upper body, the outlet's report states. Officers were not harmed in the exchange of gunfire. Police recovered multiple guns from inside the home and are now investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
It remains unclear whether either man was shot by the officer who returned fire or whether either of the wounds was self-inflicted, per the same account. No additional details were immediately available as the investigation continues.
Long Beach’s published outline of officer-involved shooting reviews describes separate criminal and departmental processes: homicide detectives investigate, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office is notified and, in shootings where someone is struck, its Justice System Integrity Division participates in an independent investigation. The department also says command staff review tactics, equipment and policy, with the police chief making the final determination on whether the shooting complied with department policy. Long Beach’s outline of its review process does not establish which steps have occurred in this case.
Body Camera Footage Under Review
The responding officers were equipped with body-worn cameras, and the department is now reviewing that footage as part of its investigation into the shooting. Per the report, Long Beach police plan to make the body-camera footage available to the public as soon as possible.
California law treats recordings depicting an officer firing a gun at a person as critical-incident records subject to public disclosure rules. An agency may delay release for up to 45 days if disclosure would substantially interfere with an active investigation; the law allows further delays under specified conditions, with the agency required to explain the basis. The department’s plan to release the footage as soon as possible comes as investigators review it. California Government Code section 7923.625 sets out those rules.
No further details about the identities of the two men, a timeline of the confrontation, or a motive have been released. The investigation into the Gardenia Avenue shooting remains active.
Whether California’s attorney general must independently investigate the officer’s gunfire depends on a key fact not yet established publicly: state law requires the California Department of Justice to investigate officer-involved shootings that result in the death of an unarmed civilian. The two men’s deaths and the recovery of firearms do not, by themselves, establish whether that legal threshold is met. The state’s AB 1506 guidance describes the DOJ’s role in qualifying cases.
