A 16-year-old boy was fatally shot in Long Beach on Sunday, Aug. 4. He was one of the dozens of children and teens victimized in shootings across the city each year.
The 16-year-old was in North Long Beach when he was killed. Long Beach police responded to the 3300 block of 67th Street at 2:40 p.m. on Sunday, after receiving multiple reports that someone had been shot in the street.
Officers said they found the victim suffering from multiple gunshots to the upper and lower body. Police provided emergency aid to the victim, until personnel with the Long Beach Fire Department arrived at the scene and declared him to be deceased.
The victim had been dropped off in the area by an adult relative, and then later returned to his relative’s car while being followed by a group of unknown suspects, according to a statement by police. The shooting occurred shortly afterwards. The teen’s relative was also injured during the shooting, although it was unclear whether the relative was struck by debris or gunfire.
No arrests have been made in the shooting, and the police have not released any information about potential suspects.
Police said that they believe there were additional witnesses to the crime, and encouraged them to reach out to police.
Data shows drastic differences in gun violence between neighborhoods
Over four months ago, another teen, 17-year-old Briana Soto, was fatally shot while walking home from work. Police released surveillance footage of a suspect, but no arrests have been made in the case.
The Signal Tribune obtained the data for all shootings reported in Long Beach from January 2007 to April 2024 through a public records request. Police records list people who were shot at as victims, regardless of whether they were struck by gunfire or not.
Soto was shot near the intersection of 11th Street and Lewis Avenue, which is located in the 90813 zip code, the area of the city in which minors are most often involved in shootings. Since 2007, there have been 312 minors involved in shootings in the 90813 zip code. This includes shootings where a minor is the victim, as well as shootings where the suspect is a minor. The term minor refers to anyone under the age of 18 years old.
Sunday’s shooting occurred in North Long Beach, in the 90805 zip code, which is the area with the second most shootings involving minors. Since 2007, there have been 219 minors involved in shootings there.
This is in stark contrast to more affluent neighborhoods. In the 90807 zip code, which encompasses the Cal Heights and Bixby Knolls neighborhoods, 29 minors have been involved in shootings since 2007. In the 90803 zip code, which encompasses Belmont Shore, one of the city’s wealthiest areas, there has only been one shooting involving a minor since 2007.
There are more than quadruple as many people living in poverty in the 90813 zip code compared to 90803. Around 25.6% of residents in 90813 live below the poverty line, compared to 6.5% in 90803. The state average is 12.2%, according to census data.
Rates of gun violence against minors keep changing
While shootings involving minors are drastically lower than they were over 15 years ago, they’ve fluctuated over the last decade. The data shows that the number of shootings involving minors steadily decreased each year from 2007 to 2014, but has bounced up and down since then.
In 2023, 29 children and teens were the victims of shootings.
One of the most widely publicized cases was a drive-by shooting in May 2023 that killed a 12-year-old boy, Eric Gregory Brown III, and injured a 14-year-old-girl. Two adults, Reshawn Strother and Destenee Sheree Scipio, were arrested as suspects in the shooting in July 2023. Their court case is still ongoing over a year later.
Anyone who may have information about Sunday’s shooting is urged to call Detectives Leticia Gamboa or Oscar Valenzuela at 562-570-7244. Tipsters may also call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS, or use the website www.lacrimestoppers.org.
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