Long Beach police say officers arrested a 17-year-old boy believed to be responsible for a string of three overnight shootings in West Long Beach — including one where a 16-year-old boy was wounded.
Police said the first shooting happened around 11:27 p.m. on April 5 near Baltic Avenue and 20th Street, where a driver heard gunfire as she was driving past two boys and then realized her car had been hit.
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The next shooting happened about 20 minutes later a little more than a mile away in the 2900 block of Webster Avenue, according to police. In that case, the LBPD said, the victims had just parked when two people approached them, revealed a firearm and shot in their direction.
The final incident happened around 1:41 a.m. in the 2400 block of Baltic Avenue, where a 16-year-old boy was shot in the lower body, police said.
Officers rushed to the scene and started giving the boy first aid before he was taken to a hospital in stable condition. Officers were also able to quickly detain the 17-year-old believed to be responsible, according to the LBPD.
Police said detectives soon linked the 17-year-old to the other recent shootings and a fourth that happened nearby back on Feb. 27. Nobody was wounded in that case.
This morning, police said, SWAT officers also served a search warrant near the crime scene and a second warrant about a block away on Adriatic Avenue.
During the searches, officers seized several weapons they believe were used in the shootings, police said.
The boy remains in custody, and detectives will soon present a case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration, the LBPD said in a news release.