A man who was shot by police Tuesday after he’d allegedly attacked four people and then tried to get into a residential property near Second Street in Belmont Shore has been identified by authorities.
The man was identified as 31-year-old Mario Najara, according to the Long Beach Police Department. He was taken into custody on suspicion of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and robbery, police said, adding that his bail was set at $1 million.
Police say Najara, whom they described as someone experiencing homelessness, was in the area of Park Avenue and Livingston Drive in Belmont Shore just before noon on Thursday when he allegedly assaulted a man and a woman before carrying out two more attacks nearby, one of which left a man hospitalized with stab wounds.
Najara, wielding a screwdriver, was located on Second Street by responding officers, but he failed to comply with their instructions and began walking away from them, police said.
Officers continued to talk with Najara in an effort to get him to drop his weapon, however, the 31-year-old instead attempted to enter a residential property near Quincy Avenue and Livingston Drive, at which point at least one officer shot him, according to the LBPD.
Najara was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the upper body, according to police.
The attacks, which police said appeared to be random, left some Belmont Shore residents surprised, especially since it took place while Livingston Park was being used by families in the community.
On Wednesday, District 3 Councilwoman Kristina Duggan, a representative of the area where the attacks happened, expressed her own concern at the “senseless violence” and said it is a “reflection of the crisis on our streets that we all see.”
“The City has declared an emergency on homelessness, and we know we need to do more to address mental health issues and drug-addiction,” Duggan said in a statement. “We need to make mental health and drug-addiction services available and people experiencing homelessness who need those services must use them. This doesn’t happen overnight, but I am committed to making it happen.”
Man shot by police was armed with screwdriver, stabbing people randomly, LBPD says