RANDERSON

2:15PM | The Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) has released additional information regarding the death of 29-year-old Long Beach resident Ryan Anderson, who was shot by another resident after entering their home early Sunday morning.

RANDERSONAccording to the LBPD, evidence suggests that Anderson had scaled a wall to gain access to the backyard, broke a window, and proceeded to steal items from the household before a resident, one of two residents home at the time, shot Anderson multiple times.

LBPD officers discovered Anderson’s body inside the home after taking two minutes and twenty seconds to respond to the scene following a 9-1-1 call. Anderson was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

“The suspect was found to have personal property belonging to the resident on his person,” LBPD said in a release. “There is no indication at this time there is any connection between the suspect and the residents of the home.”

29-Year-Old Long Beach Resident Ryan Anderson Shot and Killed After Entering Home on 3rd St

August 10, 11PM | Early Sunday morning, 29-year-old Long Beach resident Ryan Anderson was killed after attempting to enter a random home near 3rd and Temple in what police are calling an attempted burglary, while friends are describing the incident as “drunken mistake.”

According to LBPD, officers responded to the 2800 block of E. 3rd at 2:30AM on August 10 to a “burglary in progress where the resident had shot the suspect inside the home,” said LBPD spokesperson Megan Zabel.

Anderson, the alleged suspect who had no criminal record, had been pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics and, according to Zabel. It has not been confirmed whether or not Anderson was armed at the time of the incident. 

“I heard three shots, which I thought were firecrackers, but they were shots,” neighbor Dina Milonas told CBS. “Then I heard the homeowner next door to me scream, ‘Help me, help me.’”

Anderson, who lived nearby at Newport and 3rd, was described by friends as a pacificist and “never confrontational.”

“I am not mad at someone protecting themselves and their home—but [Ryan] wasn’t a burglar,” said long time friend Jay Diebel. “He was a good kid. Always funny, always a good remark… But just someone who would never break into someone’s house. He didn’t need that.”

Anderson, a Seattle-to-Long Beach transplant, had left V Room at 4th and Alamitos alone shortly before 2AM, according to Diebel. Police have not confirmed this information.

“With his beanie and beard and [being] drunk—yeah, of course he’d look suspect,” said Diebel. “Anyone would [look suspect] in a house that wasn’t theirs… I just don’t want this becoming a conversation about the rising crime in the area because that’s not what this is. It was a freak accident.”

While LBPD continues their homicide investigation, friends of Anderson lament the loss of what was a young life.

“We feel guilty—how can we not?” Diebel said. “But we’re all big kids and we have to watch out for one another. I can only assume he thought he was home [when he walked into a stranger’s house]. I’m not mad, I’m not angry; I’m just gonna miss this kid. He was a gem.”

This marks the second intruder who has been shot by a Long Beach resident in the last three weeks, after 80-year-old Tom Greer grabbed his .22-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver and shot Andrea Miller during a home invasion burglary in Bixby Knolls.

More information as it becomes available.

Photo courtesy of Jay Diebel.

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