“The number of gang shootings has actually gone down,” Police Chief Wally Hebeish said at a recent community meeting. “The problem is the number of hit shootings involving gang members has gone up.”
Law enforcement officials have said there’s an “epidemic” of ghost guns, which can be built from kits purchased online—potentially avoiding background checks.
In one case, a man managed to drive away unharmed as he was being shot at from the sidewalk, police said.
Police said they haven’t arrested the other gunman who allegedly fired back after being targeted.
Neighborhoods in Downtown, Central, West and North Long Beach have borne the brunt of the surge in gun violence, according to data mapped by the Long Beach Post.
An announcement from the Long Beach Police Department said that its homicide detectives have gathered “significant evidence” apparently linking Efren Abril to the Aug. 5 killing of 29-year-old Antonio Parra and 28-year-old Brian Gomez who were found with gunshot wounds in a parking lot near St. Mary’s Medical Center.
Last month, there were 37 shootings, with someone being hit by gunfire in 18 of them.
Two deputies badly wounded in an ambush shooting last year have sued a company for making the parts for a “ghost gun” used in the attack.
Three people, including a teenage boy, were injured after a string of shootings took place Friday night and early Saturday morning, Long Beach police said.
Shootings were up 145% over the first three months of 2021 compared to the previous year, according to police data.
