A man showed up at a Long Beach emergency room with a gunshot wound last night but then tried to walk away from the hospital hours later, police said.

Police said the man arrived at St. Mary Medical Center around 11:45 Monday night with a gunshot wound to his upper body.

Detectives believe the man is connected to an earlier call about gunshots someone reported in the 100 block of West Pacific Coast Highway around 10:45 p.m., spokeswoman Tonya Dean said. But when officers responded to that call, they were unable to find a crime scene, evidence or a victim, she said.

Police made the connection after being told about the victim at the emergency room. The victim is in stable condition, but police were unable to talk to him to get a statement, Dean said.

The victim on Tuesday walked out of the hospital, but police were able to find him and take him back, she said.

Police do not yet have any suspect information and the shooting is now being investigated as possibly gang-related, she said.