Now, It's Murder: LB's First Fatal Shooting Of 2015 Is In 4th Council District, Area 10th St./Raymond Ave. (East of Cherry b/w 7th St-Anaheim St.), Victim Succumbs After He's Shot Roughly Two Hours After Mayor Garcia's "State of the City" Message Said Violent Crime Is At Lowest Levels In 40 Yrs And Public Safety Progress "Can Be Seen In Every Neighborhood"</small>

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Now, It's Murder: LB's First Fatal Shooting Of 2015 Is In 4th Council District, Area 10th St./Raymond Ave. (East of Cherry b/w 7th St-Anaheim St.)

Victim Succumbs After He's Shot Roughly Two Hours After Mayor Garcia Says In "State of the City" Message That Violent Crime Is At Lowest Levels In 40 Yrs And Public Safety Progress "Can Be Seen In Every Neighborhood"

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(Jan. 17, 2015) -- LBREPORT.com has learned that the victim of a shooting on Tuesday night (Jan. 13) in the area of 10th St./Raymond Ave. has succumbed to his wounds. Jose De Jesus Cabral Orozco, 22, of Long Beach is the city's first murder victim of 2015. The fatal shooting occurred in the western portion of LB's 4th Council district less than two hours after Mayor Robert Garcia completed his "State of the City" message in which he said violent crime had dropped to its lowest level in 40 years and "progress in public safety can be seen in every neighborhood."

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LBREPORT.com's map below shows shootings, both fatal and non-fatal, since Jan. 1, 2014, cumulated for context.

Red Xs=2014 murders; 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 for shootings in area shown. Map excludes NLB.

In an updated release tonight (Jan. 17), LBPD states:

On Tuesday, January 13, 2015, at approximately 9:00 p.m., Long Beach Police responded to the 2300 block of east 10th street regarding shots fired.
When officers arrived, they learned that a suspect walked up to a group of individuals who were gathered in a yard of a residence and opened fire, striking a male adult in the upper body. Long Beach Fire Department paramedics responded and transported the victim to a local hospital where he remained in critical condition. Due to the seriousness of the victim’s injuries, homicide detectives responded to the scene to investigate.
Last night, January 16, 2015, the victim succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased. The victim has been identified as 22-year-old Jose De Jesus Cabral Orozco of Long Beach. The motive for this shooting is still unclear and no suspect is in custody at this time. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact Long Beach Police Homicide Detectives Hugo Cortes and Oscar Valenzuela at (562) 570-7244. Anonymous tips may be submitted by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), texting TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or visiting www.lacrimestoppers.org.

In his State of the City message, Mayor Garcia acknowledged that Central LB had lagged in economic growth "especially neighborhoods west of Cherry between Anaheim and PCH to the west city limits where he said the poverty and unemployments rates exceed that of the rest of the city "and the crime rate continues to be a major challenge" which he called "unacceptable."

Garcia said residents of that area "need access to healthcare, education and good jobs" and said the City had applied for federal "Promize Zone" designation" (that he said could send federal dollars "to improve economic activity, expand educational opportunities and reduce violent crime.")

Since Sept. 2009, City Council majorities (which included Garcia) under former Mayor Bob Foster cut LBPD's budgets to the point where LB taxpayers now have roughly 20% fewer budgeted police officers available for citywide deployment than five years ago. In July 2014, Mayor Garcia recommended, and a new Council majority approved without dissent, a FY15 budget that eliminated LBPD's field anti-gang unit (an action first recommended by former Mayor Foster in FY13 but initially resisted by former Councils.)