Homicide detectives are investigating the death of a man who was shot in a North Long Beach neighborhood Monday afternoon that led police to lock down nearby schools.
Police responded to reports of a shooting in the 5100 block of Pacific Avenue around 11:25 a.m. Monday where they found evidence that a shooting had occurred but did not locate any suspects or victims.
While at the scene, officers were told that the man wounded by the gunfire managed to drive himself to a nearby hospital where he later died, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
The victim’s name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
The shooting prompted lockdowns at nearby Perry Lindsey Academy and Dooley Elementary School while authorities searched the area for suspects.
Police scoured the scene for evidence and conducted safety checks at the schools but were unable to locate the shooter, who they say fled on foot.
Officers later responded the hospital where the victim died and made contact with a man they described as a “subject of interest,” but his involvement in the shooting is still under investigation, according to the LBPD.
The motive for the shooting and circumstances of the incident were not immediately clear.
The lockdowns at Lindsey Academy and Dooley Elementary lasted around two hours and many parents expressed frustration over the lack of information they received from the Long Beach Unified School District.
Many said they found out about the lockdown from their children inside the school who said there was a shooting in the area and all students were sheltered inside the cafeteria.
Sophia Vasquez, who is in sixth grade, said all students were locked down in the cafeteria before moving to the auditorium.
“(School faculty) were telling us to not panic, don’t be afraid,” said Vasquez, who spoke to the Post with her mother’s consent. “They just told us to keep our heads down and be quiet.”
At 12:57 p.m., over an hour after the shooting was reported, the district sent an email to Lindsey Academy parents that said the school was locked down “due to police activity in the surrounding neighborhood.”