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Shooting at Long Beach, Calif., Halloween Party Kills 3 Shooting at Long Beach, Calif., Halloween Party Kills 3
(32 minutes later)
Three men were fatally shot and at least nine other people were injured in an attack at a Halloween house party in Long Beach, Calif., on Tuesday night, the authorities said. Three men were fatally shot and at least nine other people injured in an attack in Long Beach, Calif., on Tuesday night, the authorities said.
About 25 people were celebrating when at least one unidentified gunman entered an alley behind the home and began shooting “almost indiscriminately,” Chief Robert G. Luna of the Long Beach Police Department said on Wednesday. Of the partygoers who were injured, seven were women and two were men, all between the ages of 20 and 49, he added. The three men who died were believed to be in their mid-20s. The shooting occurred on the 2700 block of Seventh Street in the Southern California city, 25 miles south of Los Angeles, during a Halloween party at a private home, according to fire officials and local news outlets.
The gunman was said to have fled in a dark-colored vehicle and was still at large on Wednesday. City officials asked anyone with information to contact the police. The motive for the attack was not immediately clear. The police said they were looking for several suspects, according to KTLA 5, a local news station.
“I know there are people out there that have information as to who this coward is, and I would like them to come forward,” Chief Luna said at a news conference. The Long Beach Fire Department said in a post on Twitter that it had responded to the shooting shortly before 11 p.m.
The circumstances led police to believe it was a targeted attack, but there was no sign that it was gang-related, Chief Luna said. He added that most of the victims did not live in Long Beach, and that many of the partygoers worked together at a site outside the city, which he declined to identify. Some attendees characterized the gathering as a birthday or office party, he said. A police spokeswoman had said earlier that some partygoers were in costume. A spokesman for the Fire Department, Jake Heflin, told reporters that firefighters had arrived to a scene “full of chaos.”
The shooting occurred at about 10:45 p.m. in the city, 25 miles south of Los Angeles. “There were 12 patients involved in this incident,” Mr. Heflin said. The nine injured people were taken to hospitals, but their condition was not immediately known. The three dead were men in their mid-20s, Mr. Heflin added.
A spokesman for the Long Beach Fire Department, Jake Heflin, told reporters that firefighters had arrived to a scene “full of chaos.” Some of the victims had been critically injured, and others were in stable condition. A Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman, Jennifer de Prez, said people at the residence where the shooting took place had been attending a party, and that some were wearing Halloween costumes. She said the victims had been found inside and outside the house.
A police department spokeswoman, Jennifer de Prez, said the victims had been found inside and outside the house. Aerial footage showed firefighters triaging victims on yellow and red tarps outside a home and behind a nail salon. Neighbors and others said they had heard about 20 gunshots, and told the local news media that they initially thought they were fireworks. It was unclear what weapon or weapons had been used in the shooting as of Wednesday morning. Ms. De Prez said no suspect information could be confirmed as the police was still interviewing victims, but she added that the suspect or suspects had fled the scene before the police arrived.
Aerial footage showed firefighters triaging victims on yellow and red tarps outside a home and behind a nail salon. Neighbors and others said they had heard about 20 gunshots. Federal lawmakers, law enforcement officials and local communities have grappled with a response to mass shootings in the United States, with many debates focusing on gun control laws and better background checks on gun buyers.
It was unclear what type of weapon was used in the shooting as of Wednesday morning. Chief Luna said the police were still investigating. California has the strongest gun laws of any American state, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a gun control advocacy group. It bans most assault weapons and limits purchases of new handguns to one person per month.
Federal lawmakers, law enforcement officials and local communities have grappled with a response to the proliferation of mass shootings in the United States, with many debates focusing on gun control laws and better background checks on gun buyers. The shooting on Tuesday appeared to be the third mass shooting in California this year. In July, three people were killed and more than 10 injured in a shooting at a food festival in Northern California. In April, one woman was killed and several others were wounded at a synagogue near San Diego.
California has the strongest gun laws of any state, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a gun control advocacy group. It bans most assault weapons and limits purchases of new handguns to one person per month. The shooting on Tuesday appeared to be the third mass shooting in California this year. In July, three people were killed and more than 10 injured in a shooting at a food festival in Northern California. In April, one woman was killed and several others were wounded at a synagogue near San Diego.
Over the summer, 26 mass shootings nationwide left 126 people dead.Over the summer, 26 mass shootings nationwide left 126 people dead.