Man Is Shot/Wounded, Area 10th St./Virginia Court (b/w Chestnut-Magnolia) In Historic Willmore City Area, Roughly One Mile Due North of City Hall, Investigated As Possibly Gang Related
About an hour later, man is stabbed, area 10th St./Pine Ave., investigated as possibly gang related.
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(Aug. 29, 2015, 6:25 a.m.) -- A man (adult) was shot and wounded last night (Aug. 28) in the area of 10th St./Virginia Court (between Magnolia and Chestnut Aves.) roughly a mile due north of City Hall in the historic Willmore City area (1st Council district.)
LBPD overnight Watch Commander Lt. Jeff Berkenkamp tells LBREPORT.com that at about 10:36 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 1000 block of Virginia Court, arrived to find a man (adult) with a gunshot wound. LBFD transported the victim to a hospital with what's believed to be a non-life-threatening wound. What took place appears to be a "walk-up" shooting; the suspect is described for now as a man (adult) and the shooting is being investigated as possibly gang related.
About an hour after the shooting, Lt. Berkenkamp says LBPD officers were on an unrelated call at St. Mary hospital when a man approached them with two stab wounds and indicated he'd been stabbed in the 1000 block of Pine Ave. That incident is also being investigated as possibly gang related.
The latest shooting is the fifth in Long Beach within a week (includes a murder and a "no hit" shooting) and comes about 25 hours after a woman (adult) was shot and wounded, and some cars were damaged by gunfire in the Seaside Park/14th St. Park area near Chestnut Ave. (1st district.) On Aug. 24, gunfire wounded a 17 year old male in the Wrigley area (Burnett St./Linden Ave., 6th district) and shots were fired but no person and no property were hit in the area of 16th Pine (1st district.) On Aug. 23 a man was shot and killed in the area of PCH/Pine Ave. (border of 1st and 6th districts.)
On June 22, a man was shot and killed in an alley in the 800 block of Chestnut Ave. (1st district.)
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Red Xs=2014 and 2015 murders to date; Blue Xs=2014 and 2015 shootings, person wounded; Brown Xs=shots fired at victim(s), not hit; Purple Xs=2014 shots at occupied residence/vehicle; Green Xs=shots at unoccupied vehicle/residence; Grey Xs=shots fired (no hit, no target identified); Orange X's=non-fatal stabbings. Map is unofficial. A separate map (not shown here) indicates add'l shootings in NLB.
On Aug. 18, 2015, 1st district Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez joined a unanimous Council in making no motions at a budget hearing on the FY16 police budget for which management and Mayor Garcia haven't proposed to restore any or all of the field anti-gang unit or any of roughly 200 officers no longer provided to taxpayers citywide. (The Council took no budget adoption votes on that date; they're scheduled for the first half of September.)
LBPD's former field anti-gang unit formerly deployed 20 officers + 2 sergeants in gang impacted neighborhoods, where officers could observe conditions firsthand, work contacts and gather intelligence. LBPD still has a budgeted anti-gang unit (handling investigations, filing cases and the like) but not an anti-gang unit operating in the field as taxpayers once received.
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In August 2012, Mayor Bob Foster recommended a budget that would have entirely eliminated funding for field anti-gang unit. The Council disagreed and used "one time" funding to allow up to half the unit in FY13. A year later, the Council then quietly let funding for the field anti-gang unit disappear in FY14, and Mayor Garcia and a new Council majority didn't restore it in FY15.
As in previous years, the Council's Mayor-chosen Public Safety Committee (currently comprised of Councilmembers Price [chair], Austin and Mungo) hasn't held hearings on the public safety implications of the Mayor's recommended budget.
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On Aug. 8 (about ten days before the hearing on the proposed FY16 police budget), Councilwoman Gonzalez's office, working with city management departments, held what it called a "Safe Long Beach Fair" in Seaside Park (14th/Chestnut) displaying [press release text] "existing programs and services that enhance safety in the community"; the event included a "Kids' Zone with inflatable jumpers, face painting, a photo booth, crafts and games. Music, entertainment, and complimentary food will also be provided for all to enjoy...'The Safe Long Beach Fair will empower residents by promoting the services and resources of our Long Beach Public Safety Continuum,' said Councilmember Lena Gonzalez..."
[City press release text] The City of Long Beach has an explicit focus on the Public Safety Continuum. The Continuum recognizes that City agencies and programs must work together in order to cultivate and sustain a safe City. The Continuum includes Parks, Recreation and Marine, Police, Fire, Libraries, Health and Human Services, Workforce Development, Development Services Neighborhood Services Bureau and Building and Safety Bureau, among other agencies. Their efforts, joined by citizens and community-based organizations, are critical to preventing violence.
This event is part of Safe Long Beach, the City's Violence Prevention Plan. Adopted by the City Council in May 2014, Safe Long Beach addresses a broad safety agenda aimed at reducing all forms of violence, including domestic abuse, child abuse, elder abuse, hate crimes, bullying, gang violence, and violent crime. The Plan draws upon the City's many existing assets to target violence at its root and attain the goal of building a safer Long Beach by 2020.
