A shooting in Long Beach left a 12-year-old boy dead and a 14-year-old girl wounded, and Wednesday police sought at least two suspects who fled in a vehicle.
Officers were sent to the 2200 block of Lewis Avenue about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
The wounded boy and girl were taken to a hospital, where the boy died and the girl was being treated for a non-life-threatening wound to her lower body, police said.
Police identified the boy as Eric Gregory Brown III of Long Beach.
According to police, the boy, the 14-year-old girl and a 13-year-old girl were walking on the sidewalk when a vehicle approached them, occupied by at least two males.
“An unknown number of suspect(s) shot at the victims,” police said in a statement. No description was released of the vehicle or suspects. The younger girl was not injured, police said.
Police increased patrols in the area on Wednesday, authorities said.
“The shooting that took place last night is absolutely devastating,” LBPD Chief Wally Hebeish said in a statement. “A young boy’s life has been cut short due to an intolerable act of gun violence. While we mourn this loss as a community, our officers will not stop working to locate and arrest those responsible for this tragedy.”
Neighbors told Fox 11 that investigators were canvassing home surveillance cameras to help identify the suspect’s vehicle.
“It’s kind of crazy. I just heard the shots and five minutes later, the whole block was blocked off,” a neighbor who wished to remain anonymous told Fox 11.
Anyone with information on the case was urged to call Detectives Michael Hubbard or Jesus Espinoza at 562-570-7244, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS. Tipsters may also use the website www.lacrimestoppers.org.
A previous version of this article stated that the shooting occurred in North Long Beach and was been corrected on May 10. The Signal Tribune regrets this error.
