A murder suspect was shot and critically wounded during an encounter Friday in Wilmington with undercover investigators attempting to arrest him, according to Long Beach Police and accounts from neighbors.
During the encounter, the suspect's sedan collided with an unmarked pickup truck being driven by an undercover officer, and veered onto the sidewalk on Marine Avenue near R Street along with an unmarked law enforcement vehicle.
One neighbor described hearing officers shout, "Hands out the window," before the gunfire.
Detectives had identified a suspect in a homicide in the port of Long Beach on September 5, when a man was found shot to death at Terminal T in Hanjin Road, said Long Beach Police Sgt. Brad Johnson.
Information led detectives to believe they would find the suspect in the Wilmington neighborhood. Undercover officers were seen in the area Friday morning several hours before the 11:20am encounter, neighbors said.
The collision occured after the suspect "attempted [to] flee in the vehicle," according to a department statement. Sgt. Johnson said police did not deliberately crash into the suspect sedan to stop it.
Within moments, several other unmarked vehicles arrived at the collision location.
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The suspect was still in his vehicle when two detectives opened fire, Johnson said. He did not know what specifically triggered the gunfire, but said the suspect was armed. A photo of what police described as the recovered suspect handgun was posted on the department's website along with an account of the incident .
Police did not immediately identify the suspect. He was transported to a hospital in critical condition.
Refresh this page for updates on this developing story.
