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Inequity By The Numbers: Within Recent Six Week Period, LB Had 20 Shooting Crime Scenes. 17 Were In Working Class Parts Of 1st and 6th Council Dists. Their Neighborhoods Have Regularly Endured LB's Highest Numbers Of Homicides. Their Incumbents Were Elected With Financial Support From LB's Police Officers Union PAC And Mayor Robert Garcia


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(June 5, 2020, 9:05 a.m.) -- Within a little over six weeks - April 15 through May 31 -- Long Beach had 20 shooting crime scenes [persons hit (including a homicide) and pesons-not-hit (vehicles or buildings damaged/hit)]. 17 of the 20 shooting crime scenes disproportionately impacted working class areas in LB's 1st and 6th Council districts.

Over the course of several months. the two Council districts have also had the city's highest number of shootings and homicides. In some months, their per capita shootings and/or homicides have exceeded that of Chicago (LBREPORT.com coverage here and here and here and here)

LB's 1st and 6th Council districts are represented by incumbents either recently elected (1st dist Zendejas) or repeatedly re-elected/now facing re-election (6th dist. Andrews) with the financial support of the LB Police Officers Ass'n PAC and LB Mayor Robert Garcia (who has cited "citywide" instead of Council district-focused crime stats in stating "crime is down.".

LBPD crime stats don't separately report shootings. Like many law enforcement agencies, LBPD includes shootings within "aggravated assaults," which satisfies federal reporting standards but makes it difficult to access data on LB shootings. This is a discretionary action enabled without objection for years by the LB City Council. (In L.A., LAPD does provide shooting crime stats in its publicly released stats.) LBREPORT.com independently tracks shootings after confirming each one with LBPD.

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In the 1st district, Mary Zendejas was elected to the City Council in a November 2019 no-runoff special election with over $100,000 in campaign contributions from corporate/development interests, government-affairs lobbyists and organized labor (reported in LBREPORT.com's Follow the Money coverage here, here, here, here, and here). Those sums were amplified by $30,000 from the LB Police Officers Ass'n PAC, Mayor Garcia and immediate past 1st dist. Council incumbent (now state Senator) Lena Gonzalez, who bypassed LB's voter-enacted contribution limits to candidate campaigns by giving $10,000 each to the LB Firefighters Ass'n PAC which then used the sum to run an "independent expenditure" campaign (not legally bound by candidate contribution limits) to support electing Zendejas.

Mayor Garcia then appointed newly-elected Zendejas (with Council voted approval) to chair the Council's "Elections Oversight Committee" where she recently proposed increasing the amounts candidates can raise during election cycles. Zendejas will face 1st dist. voters in March 2022 (with fundraising slated to begin in March 2021.

In the adjacent 6th Council district, Council incumbent Dee Andrews (first elected in 2007, named by the Council as its Vice Mayor in mid-2018) supported by the LB Police Officers Ass'n PAC, Mayor Garcia and corporate/development interests. His opponent, Suely Saro, is supported by organized labor.

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  • >4th dist.: May 31. 3000 block E. Anaheim St., about 8:45 p.m. victim driving when someone shoots at him; rounds miss hitting driver, damage his vehicle [occurred during civil unrest/looting in separated locations]

  • 6th dist.: May 31, Anaheim St./Alamitos Ave. about 8:30 p.m. victim shot/wounded, victim was driving when he was shot. [occurred during civil unrest/looting in separated locations]

  • 1st dist: May 31, 1700 block Pine Ave., 1:45 a.m. man shoots at 3 men and 2 women, misses hitting them, rounds strike/damage multiple parked vehicles.

  • 1st dist: May 29, 2020: 100 block W. PCH, noon-hour; man is shot/wounded

  • 6th dist. May 21, 2020, 2300 block 17th St. (roughly three blocks east of Cherry Ave., about 6 blocks east of a May 16 Myrtle Ave. homicide listed below.) Approx. 8:40 p.m., a caller reports hearing shots fired; officers find a residence with a shattered window and evidence of a shooting, no persons hit.

  • 6th dist: May 18, 2020, approx. 10:45 p.m. 100 block of W. PCH, shots heard, about an hour later, shooting victim (man/adult) turns up at St. Mary Medical Center; PD unable to speak with victim but believes related to PCH shooting

  • 6th dist. May 16, 2020 homicide, area Gaviota at E. 17th St., police respond to shots fired call, find man fatally wounded in a parked vehicle. Victim ID'd as Austin Thai,27, of Gardena. Witnesses said a man (adult), possibly African American, ran from the scene after the shooting, motive unknown.

  • 8th dist. May 12, 2020. 5500 block Ackerfield, approximately 5:00 p.m.,nearby vehicle and a residential building, both unoccupied, struck by gunfire and several casings; no victims have been identified and no injuries have been reported

  • 6th dist.. May 12, 2020, 1700 block E. PCH, approx. 12:45 a.m. man (adult) struck by gunfire, victim believes shot came form a vehicle but unable to provide description..

  • 2nd dist. May 4, 2020, 700 block Gaviota Ave., 12:45 p.m. a.m. casings found, no victims, structures or vehicles struck.

  • 6th dist. May 3, 2020, 1900 block Lime Ave., approx. 1:30 a.m. LBPD locates casings in alley to the rear of location, no victims located, no buildings hit and no indication this was gang related.....

  • 6th dist. May 2, 2020, 1300 block Orange Ave., approx.8:45 p.m., shots heard, casings found, no persons, vehicles or buildings appear to have been struck

  • 6th dist. May 2, 2020, 2100 block Locust Ave., approx. 8:20 p.m., multiple reports of gunshots, shooting victim found 2200 block of Earl Ave., transported by LBFD to a hospital in stable condition. Victim was with another man (adult) when a man shot at them after a brief verbal exchange. Evidence of a shooting found in area of Hill St./Locust Ave., vehicle in the area also appeared to have been struck by gunfire/evidence consistent with bullet impact. Shooting investigated as possibly gang related.

  • 6th dist April 29, 2020: 1300 block MLK Ave. 8 a.m. hour, shooting to unoccupied parked vehicles, casings found and two parked vehicles had shattered windows; PD believes this shooting related to April 28 MLK/NY St. shooting

  • 6th dist. April 28, 2020: MLK Ave. @ New York St., 11 p.m. hour, call re shots fired but no evidence of vehicle or shooting. (See above re April 29 shooting about 9 hours later.) .

  • 1st dist. April 22, 1400 block Chestnut Ave., victim said suspect shot at him with handgun; PD says suspected confronted the victim before the shooting; suspect was a man (adult); PD investigating shooting as gang related.

  • 1st dist. April 22, 1400 block Summit St, approx. 5:30 a.m. (roughly 2-3 blocks from 1500 W. 19th no hit shooting below), man is shot; gang unit notified and responds; investigation ongoing.

  • 1st dist. April 21, 1500 block W. 19th St. approx 11:15 p.m. casing and strike marks to an occupied home; no persons appeared hit (see April 22 shooting a little over six hours later).

  • 1st dist: April 15, 1700 block Pine Ave., about 9:40 p.m., evidence of a shooting, no persons hit.

  • 1st dist: April 17, 9th/Chestnut, one man (possibly two) hit by gunfire and several vehicles hit.

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    LBREPORT.com has repeatedly described the disproportionate number of shootings and homicide experienced by families and businesses in LB's predominantly working class 1st and 6th Council districts as a "tale of two cities" and LB's worst chronic inequity.

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