Two teenage boys were arrested Tuesday night in connection with the shooting of a woman in North Long Beach and police may be looking for a third suspect, according to authorities.
Residents in the 6900 block of Long Beach Boulevard say they thought a firework exploded nearby before hearing a woman’s plea for help. Once outside, they saw a woman lying between a car and a tree, clutching her bleeding stomach.
Witnesses said she appeared to have been riding a bicycle near an apartment building when she was shot.
“She kept screaming that she had been shot,” said one neighbor who witnessed the bloody scene but declined to be named.
The shooting occurred around 6:57 p.m. in the area of Long Beach and Greenleaf boulevards, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
Police have closed off the northbound lane in the 6900 block of Long Beach Boulevard off 69th Street where neighbors say they heard a gunshot followed by a young woman yelling for help. pic.twitter.com/PoQmNPpHgs
— Fernando Haro (@FernandoAHaro) May 18, 2022
When officers arrived at the scene, they located a woman suffering from a single gunshot wound to her torso. Long Beach Fire Department personnel responded to the incident and transported the woman to a local hospital to be treated for her injury.
Witnesses say three boys fled the area following the shooting, according to the LBPD. After a search, authorities arrested two of the boys, the LBPD said. Police identified the two as a 17-year-old from Paramount and a 15-year-old Long Beach resident. Their names were not released because they are minors.
The two boys have since been transported to juvenile booking on firearms-related charges, according to the LBPD. Police say they’re treating the shooting as gang-related, but an exact motive remains under investigation.
Neighbors, meanwhile, said they were left wondering why anyone would shoot the young woman who they say was always smiling and could often be seen eating at a nearby taco stand.
1 dead, 1 in critical condition following shooting in North Long Beach, police say