UPDATE | A virtual town hall planned to discuss an uptick in crime in the West, Downtown and Central Long Beach areas was canceled due to technical difficulties.

The city’s hosting platform, Webex, “experienced a complete failure” to host the meeting, according to a statement from the office of Councilwoman Mary Zendejas.

Officials said they plan to reschedule the event for next week.

Previously: Police, city leaders to host virtual town hall following uptick in crime

7/6/2020 at 4:45 p.m. | West and Central Long Beach residents will have a chance to speak with their councilmembers and police about a recent uptick in crime as part of a virtual town hall on Wednesday.

Just in the past few weeks, Long Beach has experienced multiple shootings, stabbings and violent assaults, including a fatal shooting at a vigil in memory of a man who was killed, both in North Long Beach. In Central Long Beach, a street vendor was violently attacked and robbed and two men were gunned down during a reported break-in.

Mary Zendejas, who represents the 1st District where the street vendor was robbed, said in an email that she hopes to address violent crime “holistically” and invites residents to tune in. Councilman Dee Andrews, who represents Central Long Beach, will also attend.

The crime town hall will take place from 1 to 2:30 p.m. via Webex, a free video conferencing program. Once residents RSVP to their respective district ([email protected] for Zendejas or [email protected] for Andrews), they will receive a link to the virtual town hall. They can also submit questions via email before the video call.

Click here to find out which district you live in.