UPDATE | In a statement issued today, the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) said that no weapon was recovered from the scene of an officer-involved shooting yesterday, which left a 19-year-old man suspected of trespassing dead.
At approximately 2:45PM Thursday afternoon, officers responded to a residential multi-unit complex on the 1100 block of Hoffman Avenue in Cambodia Town in response to reports of several subjects trespassing inside of and vandalizing a vacant residence.
The LBPD reports that a preliminary investigation determined that when the officers arrived on the scene, they discovered an open window with no screen at the rear of the residence. The officers located a second window that was broken, with the screen removed, and an officer looked through the opening to the broken window and observed a male suspect standing next to a wall.
“The officer then observed the suspect turn towards him,” the LBPD statement goes on to say, “while bending his knees, and extending his arm out as if pointing an object which the officer perceived was a gun.”
The suspect, identified as 19-year-old Hector Morejon of Long Beach, was then struck in an officer-involved shooting. Morejon was transported to a local hospital in critical condition and was later pronounced dead.
The LBPD’s preliminary investigation found that no weapon was recovered from the scene.
According to the LBPD, the interior of the residence was covered with gang-related graffiti.
Edgar Rodarte, 20, Yesenia Pineda, 22, and Celia Cox, 22, all from Long Beach, were arrested on the scene on charges of trespassing. German Rodarte, 21, also of Long Beach, was arrested on charges of trespassing and violating a gang injunction.
According to a statement from the LBPD, the department “thoroughly reviews all use of force incidents through a rigorous multi-step process that evaluates legal, policy, tactical and equipment issues. In addition, all officer involved shootings where a death occurs, are independently investigated by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.”
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact Long Beach Police Homicide Detail at (562) 570-7244. Anonymous tips may be submitted by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), texting TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or visiting www.lacrimestoppers.org.
PREVIOUSLY: Trespassing, Tagging Suspect in Critical Condition After Officer-Involved Shooting
4/23/15 7:18PM | A 19-year-old male has been transported to a local hospital in critical condition following an officer-involved shooting in Long Beach’s Cambodia Town neighborhood this afternoon, a spokesperson for the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) confirmed.
According to Sgt. Megan Zabel of the LBPD, at approximately 2:45PM, officers were dispatched to a residential apartment complex on the 1100 block of Hoffman Avenue in response to a report of several subjects trespassing and tagging inside a vacant apartment.
When the officers arrived they discovered a broken window to the apartment, said Zabel. The officers located a second window that was open and the screen was removed.
According to Zabel, an officer then observed a male subject inside the apartment and an officer-involved shooting occurred. A 19-year-old male was struck and transported to a local hospital in critical condition. Homicide investigators are on scene and the investigation is ongoing. As with all officer involved shootings, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office responded and is conducting an independent investigation.
We will update this story as more information becomes available.
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