Brandon Blair, a Long Beach resident near Los Cerritos Park, stood on his balcony late Tuesday evening when he noticed at least three vehicles racing each other around the park while simultaneously shooting at each other with paintball guns.

Blair couldn’t believe what he was seeing and was concerned one of the drivers may lose control and crash into a bystander. He called the police, and reported what he saw. The drivers spun around the park for about 30 minutes before leaving, Blair said. When officers arrived, the cars were already gone.

The next day, Blair’s car and nearby buildings had paint splattered on them. This didn’t really bother him, but what angered Blair was the drivers’ apparent disregard for other people’s safety.

Just two years ago, the community around Los Cerritos Park experienced a traumatic fatal crash when a suspected drunk driver struck a family of three. The victims were later identified as 30-year-old Joseph Awaida, his 32-year-old wife Raihan Dakhil and their 3-year-old son Omar. The city mourned the deaths of the young Awaida family with candle-lit vigils and memorials.

When Blair saw the drivers racing around the park it brought back horrifying memories from the tragic crash.

“I’d hate to see it happen again,” he said. “It was pretty devastating when that family was killed. Street racing plus a paintball fight. That’s just doubly dangerous in my opinion.”

Blair isn’t alone in reporting the paintball fights. According to Long Beach police, the department has received 21 calls regarding similar paintball gun battles since May 1.

A resident near Los Cerritos Park took pictures of his car that was hit with paintball rounds, right, and pictures of paintball rounds he found on the ground, left. Photo courtesy Brandon Blair.

“We are aware of a string of recent incidents in Long Beach related to paintball guns being fired at persons, residences and vehicles,” a statement from the department read.

Richard Mejia, a department spokesman, said no one had been critically injured in any of these calls.

“These incidents are being reported citywide,” Mejia wrote in an email. “In response, officers will remain vigilant for paintball-related incidents and will take enforcement action when necessary. Detectives are actively investigating each of these incidents, including reviewing possible vehicle and suspect descriptions as well as video evidence.”

Police did not provide details on a potential suspect or group of suspects. Police added that inappropriate use of a paintball gun could lead to criminal prosecution, including felony charges.

Blair said a second paintball gun battle took place Wednesday at about 6 p.m. People were around the park and the sun was still out, he said. This time, the drivers stayed for about 5 to 10 minutes before driving away. Blair described the drivers as being in their 20s. At one point, he said, one a person who seemed to be involved in the paintball fight was seen sporting full body armor.

Blair isn’t sure if the paintball fights, which he described as “Fast and Furious paintball edition,” are part of a new social-media trend, but his concern remains for the safety of others.

“It’s not a real drive by, but the area is frequented by families and children,” he said. “If some child did get shot it could really hurt them.”