1:00am Friday | Police released the name of a Long Beach man who fled from a routine traffic stop on Wednesday, eventually exiting the car and apparently taking his own life with a gunshot wound. One officer suffered non-life threatening injuries from debris.
Christopher Solorzano, 26, was stopped at 63rd & Orange Avenue around 7:00pm on Wednesday night. When an officer approached to contact him, Solorzano started the car and began to drive. The officer attempted to stop him but Solorzano grabbed the officer’s hands and sped off, dragging the officer before he broke free.
It is not clear how far the officer was dragged by the vehicle, but he returned to his vehicle and he and his partner pursued the suspect.
Solorzano stopped his car and exited the vehicle near the 100 block of Plymouth Street. Officers heard a gunshot and one officer was injured by debris. Solorzano died that evening of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police say that officers did not discharge their weapons.
More information to come…
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11:45pm Wednesday | A routine traffic stop ended in gunshots Wednesday night, leaving the suspect in critical condition while an officer was also injured with non-life threatening wounds. Both were transported to local hospitals.
Officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop at 63rd & Orange in north Long Beach around 7:04pm, when the driver sped off. He was chased to the 100 block of Plymouth Street near the intersection with Pine Avenue, when the suspect exited the car and shots were fired. One officer was hit and the suspect sustained a gunshot wound to the head.
A press release from the Long Beach Police Department says that officers were not believed to have discharged their weapons, suggesting that the suspect shot at the police and then turned the gun on himself. Officers recovered firearms from the scene.
We will have more details as they become available. Anyone with information should call Homicide Detectives David Rios or Huge Cortes at 562.570.7244.