Gunfire 600 block Magnolia (Barely 5 Blocks From LBPD HQ, CD1/Zendejas); Casings Found, Parked Vehicle Hit

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Gunfire 600 block Magnolia (Barely 5 Blocks From LBPD HQ, CD1/Zendejas); Casings Found, Parked Vehicle Hit

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(Sept. 19, 2021, 10:50 a.m.) -- Gunfire flew less than half a mile north of LBPD HQ in the 600 block of Magnolia Ave. (CD1/Zendejas) on Saturday night Sept. 18.

LBPD Public Information Officer/LBPD Officer Daisy Paul says that at about 10:49 p.m. a man (adult) approached a male juvenile outside a business and when the juvenile walked away, he heard several gunshots and ran. Responding officers found bullet casings and observed that an unoccupied parked vehicle had been hit.

LBPD PIO Paul says the motive for the shooting is believed to be gang related and LBPD's investigation is ongoing.

On Sept. 12, a woman was shot/wounded in the CD 1's area of Anaheim St./Pine Ave., the same area where two men were fatally shot on Aug. 5

Since Jan. 1, Zendejas' Council district has had the highest number of shootings (person hit/wounded + killed + casings found) of any LB Council district.

On July 19, 2021, the City Council voted (8-0, Austin absent) to approve a Mayor/Management labeled "Safety Recovery Plan" that didn't restore any of roughly 230 officers that LB had but no longer has (most erased by a 2009-2014 Council that included now-Mayor Robert Garcia.) Long Beach now has a thinner per capita officer level than Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Signal Hill. (Chart shows LB police level before a Sept. 2020 Council defunding of 48 additional officers.)

Zendejas gained Council office in a Nov. 2019 no-runoff special election aided by three $10,000 contributions from Mayor Garcia, immediate past CD 1 Councilwoman (now state Senator) Lena Gonzalez and the LB police officers union. The contributions exceeded LB's voter enacted contribution limits to candidate-run campaign committees by funneling the $30,000 to an "independent" (non candidate controlled) committee run by the LB firefighters union.

On Aug 25 on an 8-0 vote (Price absent), the Council adopted a FY22 budget with minor tweaks increasing spending for various "youth programs" but without restoring any police officers for taxpayers.

Councilwoman Zendejas hasn't advocated restoring any of the erased officers...but has filed paperwork seeking re-election in 2022.