Police believe a murder suspect killed a man by ramming him with a vehicle in West Long Beach Sunday morning.

The confrontation took place shortly before 9:30 a.m. near Santa Fe Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway, according to the Long Beach Police Department.

The suspect and the victim were in some kind of dispute “that escalated when the suspect struck the victim with a vehicle,” the LBPD said.

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Long Beach Fire Department crews took the victim to a local hospital where he died, police said. Authorities have not released the victim’s name but said he was a 59-year-old man.

Police were originally told the situation was a carjacking, but they said Monday that the motive and circumstances are still under investigation.

No suspect description was released. Police asked anyone with information to call detectives Ethan Shear or Chasen Contreras at 562-570-7244. Anonymous tips may be submitted through Crime Stoppers by calling 800-222-TIPS or by visiting lacrimestoppers.org

Jeremiah Dobruck is executive editor of the Long Beach Post where he oversees all day-to-day newsroom operations. In his time working as a journalist in Long Beach, he’s won numerous awards for his investigative reporting and editing. Before coming to the Post in 2018, he wrote for publications including the Press-Telegram, Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times. Reach him at [email protected] or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.