Long Beach has endured another violent month, with three homicides and numerous shootings and assaults reported across the city in October, leaving residents alarmed and demanding stronger action from city leaders.
The latest wave of violence erupted in the early hours of Saturday, Oct. 25, when two separate shootings occurred within roughly an hour. At about 12:30 a.m., officers responded to the 1200 block of East 4th Street, near a local bar, where a man suffered a gunshot wound to the head. Police rendered aid until Long Beach Fire Department paramedics arrived and transported the victim to a nearby hospital. The motive remains under investigation.
Just over an hour later, at 1:42 a.m., police and firefighters were called to a hit shooting near La Verne Avenue, just south of Second Street. Officers performed CPR before paramedics arrived, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Homicide detectives are investigating what marks the city’s third murder of the month.
Those incidents followed a violent Thursday, Oct. 23, when Long Beach police responded to two shootings and a stabbing within 24 hours. Around 8:48 p.m., gunfire broke out on the 300 block of Coronado Avenue, where a male suspect shot at another man before both fled. Roughly an hour later, a man possibly homeless was fatally shot near Union Pacific Railroad tracks in the 5300 block of Cherry Avenue. Earlier that morning, a stabbing in the 100 block of West 1st Street left a man injured and led to the arrest of 42-year-old Matthew Chapman, who police say is experiencing homelessness.
In the days surrounding these attacks, police investigated a string of additional violent crimes:
• Oct. 22: A man shot and wounded on Pacific Avenue.
• Oct. 21: A domestic assault on Wesley Drive left a man injured.
• Oct. 20: A man shot on Olive Avenue; a female suspect was arrested.
• Oct. 18: A man slashed with a bladed weapon on Peterson Avenue.
• Oct. 17: Bullets struck a home on Ackerfield Avenue; a pedestrian was killed in a separate traffic crash on Pacific Coast Highway.
• Oct. 12–14: Two shootings — including a fatal one on Falcon Avenue and several “no-hit” shootings citywide.
While police have made arrests in some cases, many remain unsolved. The surge in violence has reignited concern over public safety and prompted renewed scrutiny of City Hall. What more can Mayor Rex Richardson, the City Council, and the Long Beach Police Department do to address these ongoing threats to residents’ safety?
And a question many residents continue to ask why do Long Beach mayors rarely address violent crime publicly? Calls for visible leadership and open discussion about crime prevention are growing louder as fear spreads across neighborhoods.
As October comes to a close, Long Beach faces a sobering reality: another month marked by gunfire, grief, and unanswered questions.
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