Footage courtesy Long Beach Police Department
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The Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) is seeking the public’s help in locating a “person of interest” in the shooting deaths of 26-year-old Carina Mancera and her 4-year-old daughter Jennabel Anaya last month by releasing two videos this week that show the man believed possibly responsible for the killings.
During a press conference at police headquarters Monday, Police Chief Robert Luna and Lt. Lloyd Cox stressed that the individual is only a “person of interest” and not necessarily a suspect at this time.
The murders occurred around 10:15pm on Aug. 6, in the area of 9th Street and Locust Avenue. When officers arrived shortly thereafter, they found that Mancera and Anaya had been struck by gunfire, according to police.
Long Beach Fire Department personnel pronounced Mancera deceased at the scene. Her daughter was transported to a local hospital in critical condition but was pronounced deceased early the next morning.
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A preliminary investigation determined that the two victims and the child’s father, Luis Anaya, 27, had just arrived home, and they were walking to their nearby residence, when the shooting occurred. The shooter had also targeted Anaya but missed.
The LBPD had gotten about 20 tips in the six weeks since the shootings, but most of those calls were from individuals theorizing about the incident rather than actual leads with any concrete evidence.
Police believe the shooter may have left the area and/or California, and they are hoping members of the public will come forward with information after viewing the footage.
“As a reminder, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the Long Beach City Council have issued a reward totaling $40,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of this suspect— or suspects— responsible for the murders of Carina and Jennabel,” Luna said.
The individual is described as an African-American male in his 20s or 30s. He is observed on video in a local business after the shooting occurred and then on a Blue Line train— with luggage— shortly thereafter. He boarded the train at 5th Street and Long Beach Boulevard and rode it into Los Angeles, police said. He then got off at the San Pedro Station located at Washington and San Pedro streets.
Anyone able to identify the man in the videos, or who knows of his whereabouts, is urged to contact the Long Beach Police Department Homicide Detail at (562) 570-7244.
