Police say they’ve arrested a man suspected of shooting another man who was standing outside an apartment complex in North Long Beach Thursday morning.
Neighbors said they heard two bursts of gunshots around 8 a.m., and police rushed to the area in the 5500 block of Ackerfield Avenue.
Authorities said they found the wounded man and paramedics transported him to a local hospital for treatment. He is expected to survive, they added.
Though the suspect fled the scene before officers arrived, police said they later found him nearby and took him into custody. His name was not immediately available.
It’s not clear what sparked the shooting, according to police, but neighbors say gun violence has been an issue in the area for some time now. They said they’re frustrated that more isn’t being done.
On June 16, 35-year-old David Nevarez was standing outside an apartment complex on the same block of Ackerfield Avenue when he was gunned down by an unknown person just before 10 p.m.
A neighbor in the area, who did not want to be named for fear of retaliation, said she was unloading her groceries from her car with the help of her 2-year-old niece when she heard the gunfire.
They ducked for cover, dropping the eggs and milk.
After the gunfire stopped, she called police and went to help out Nevarez.
“My pink sweater is stained, and the emergency pack that I received at a Stop the Bleed Training was left at the scene with the band-aids that were useless against bullet holes to the flesh,” a neighbor wrote in an email the next day to city officials. “Please step up for us.”
Al Austin, the council member for the area, said he was “deeply disheartened” that Thursday’s shooting was the second this month in the 5500 block of Ackerfield Avenue.
He said that in an effort to “bring peace to families in the area,” police will send more patrol units and provide non-emergency resources. Austin’s staff and other city departments will also reach out to residents in the area, he said.
“I refuse to develop a tolerance for ongoing gun violence in my district or city,” Austin said in an email to the Post. “Families deserve to be safe in every neighborhood in Long Beach.”
No arrests have been made yet in Nevarez’s death.
Whether his death is connected to today’s shooting is not clear.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a statement from Councilmember Al Austin.
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