An investigation was underway this morning into a shooting near a candlelight vigil in Long Beach that killed one woman and left two other women hospitalized.
Police received a call of shots fired in the area of Orange Avenue and South Street about 9 p.m. Monday and the 911 operator could hear gunshots in the background, according to Lt. Robert Bernsen of the Long Beach Police Department.
Officers arrived at the scene and found three women suffering from gunshot wounds. The women had been attending a candlelight vigil for a man who was shot to death Sunday night in the 5800 block of Orange Avenue, Bernsen said.
A woman who was wounded in the upper body was taken to a hospital in critical condition and later died. The other two victims were hospitalized, one in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the upper body and one with stable vital signs with a gunshot wound to her lower body, Bernsen said.
A large crowd was attending the vigil and detectives were interviewing witnesses, Bernsen said, adding a motive for the shooting and description of the suspect or suspects was not immediately available.
The candlelight vigil was being held for a 49-year-old Bellflower resident, Archie Harris, who was gunned down about 10 p.m. Sunday and died at the scene. A 16-year-old boy was also shot in the area on Monday afternoon. He was wounded in the 5800 block of Atlantic Avenue near the Michelle Obama Library at about 2:15 p.m., police said.
According to police, a group of subjects related to the vigil, were involved in a dispute with a local resident.
The dispute escalated into the resident’s window being broken and then into a shooting with multiple suspects firing in different directions, police said.
The incident is being investigated as gang-related and detectives are actively working to gather additional information to further the ongoing investigation, according to police.
The LBPD defines gang-related crimes as any crime committed “for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with any criminal street gang.”
No suspect description was released in either shooting and police have not established a motive.
Anyone with information on either shooting was urged to call homicide detectives at 562-570-7244, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with information on a third shooting in the area.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with information from police about how the shooting started.