Victims of deadly shooting at Halloween party in Long Beach identified
(Long Beach Fire Department)
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Three men were killed, and nine others were injured after gunfire erupted at a Halloween house party in Long Beach Tuesday night.
A mass casualty incident was declared by officials.
The slain victims have been identified as:
• Maurice Poe Jr., a 25-year-old resident of the City of Long Beach
• Melvin Williams II, a 35-year-old resident of the City of Gardena
• Ricardo Torres, a 28-year-old resident of the City of Inglewood
“The crime scene is horrific, there’s blood everywhere,” Long Beach Police Chief Robert G. Luna said during a Wednesday morning press conference. “This was a senseless act of gun violence,” Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia added.
The other nine victims were taken to the hospital with various gunshot wounds. Although their names have not been released by authorities, investigators identified them as:
• 20-year-old female resident of the City of Anaheim
• 27-year-old female resident of the City of Hawthorne
• 27-year-old male resident of the City of Cudahy
• 28-year-old female resident of the City of Los Angeles
• 28-year-old female resident of the City of Gardena
• 29-year-old male resident of the City of Hawthorne
• 30-year-old female resident of the City of Compton
• 32-year-old female resident of the City of Lawndale
• 49-year-old female resident of the City of Los Angeles
The shooting happened at 10:44 p.m. in the 2700 block of 7th Street. Authorities believe that at least one suspect opened fire at the party-goers from the rear alley of the residence. Multiple shell casings were found in the alley, police said.
Credit: Long Beach Fire Department
Luna said witnesses told police the suspect had his face concealed, was wearing dark-colored clothing, and was seen fleeing the scene in a dark-colored vehicle. Luna said no one has been detained and that police have been canvassing the neighborhood.
Investigators are working to determine if more than one shooter was involved. Police have not determined a motive for the shooting but believed that the party was targeted.
"Why would somebody do something this horrific? We don't know, but I can assure you we're going to work very hard to try and find that out," said Luna. "When you look at this — and again, this is preliminary — I don't believe this was just a random act of violence."
Credit: Long Beach Fire Department
Aerial footage from SkyFOX showed a triage set up outside a home following the shooting where multiple victims were treated by firefighter-paramedics.
(FOX 11)
Seventh Street from Molino to Temple Avenues was closed while authorities investigated.
Long Beach police is asking anyone who may have information on this case to contact Homicide Detail Detectives Mark Mattia or Donald Collier at 562-570-7244.
FOX 11's Mary Stringini and Kelli Johnson contributed to this report.