A worker sweeps up broken glass at American Health & Wellness Institute, where a vandal shot out a storefront window with a BB gun. The building was one of more than 25 businesses and vehicles hit throughout Long Beach on Monday evening. Photos by Dennis Dean.
UPDATE | The Long Beach Police Department is reporting that the number of vandalism incidents from Monday night, when vandals shot out store and vehicle windows throughout the city with a BB gun, has more than tripled since yesterday’s count of 25.
“The number of vandalism reports related to the BB guns incidents is now at 80 (plus),” Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman Megan Zabel told the Long Beach Post. “Detectives and a crime analyst are still vetting through all the vandalism reports that were taken within the city since Friday January 31st. We expect that number to keep rising and hope to have a specific number by the end of the week.”
Zabel said detectives were able to gather surveillance footage from the areas in Long Beach that were hit by the vandal or vandals, who shot BB guns through storefront and vehicle windows.
“The videos will also take time to view, to determine if any of the video actually captured the suspects,” she said.
Zabel was not able to confirm how many suspects the LBPD believes were involved in the incidents.
PREVIOUSLY: Vandal Shoots More Than 25 Storefront, Vehicle Windows Throughout Long Beach Monday Night
02/03/15 9:50AM | More than 25 Long Beach businesses and vehicles were vandalized Monday night when a suspect drove around the areas of Long Beach Boulevard and Eighth Street, as well as Naples and shot storefront and car windows with a BB gun, authorities said.
Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) officers began receiving reports of vehicles and businesses being shot at at about 9:30PM in the area of Long Beach Boulevard and Eighth Street, police said in a statement.
Within an hour, similar incidents were being called in around the East Division Naples area.
As of 10:00AM Tuesday, police believe there have been about 25 vandalized windows reported throughout the city from Monday night’s incident, but that number is preliminary and police are encouraging those who have been vandalized to come forward to police.
There have been no reported injuries from the incident.
Multiple police reports have been taken, and officers have interviewed witnesses and are searching for surveillance footage.
Witnesses described the suspect vehicle as a four-door black or blue Honda Civic with a spoiler and chrome tailpipes. No video or photographs of the suspect vehicle are available at this time, police said.
Police will continue their investigation Tuesday night, and two officers have been dedicated to the investigation overnight, the LBPD said.
No further information is available, and the investigation is ongoing. We will update this story as we learn more.
If anyone finds their windows have been vandalized within the City of Long Beach, or if anyone has information regarding these incidents, they are urged to contact the LBPD at 562-435-6711.
