A man was rushed to the hospital in critical condition after being shot a few blocks away from Cesar E. Chavez Park in Long Beach Wednesday night, according to police.

His injuries are so severe that homicide detectives have taken over the case, the LBPD said.

The gunfire was reported around 11 p.m. Wednesday in the 700 block of West Melrose Way, which is about two blocks east of the riverside park.

When police got there, they found a man who’d been shot in the upper body, Long Beach police spokeswoman Arantxa Chavarria said.

She said detectives couldn’t immediately provide any details on a suspect or what lead up to the shooting.

“They are in the process of gathering evidence and speaking to witnesses, unfortunately we will not have another update until they complete their preliminary investigation,” Chavarria said.

 

Jeremiah Dobruck is executive editor of the Long Beach Post where he oversees all day-to-day newsroom operations. In his time working as a journalist in Long Beach, he’s won numerous awards for his investigative reporting and editing. Before coming to the Post in 2018, he wrote for publications including the Press-Telegram, Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times. Reach him at [email protected] or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.