Police Tuesday were looking for witnesses to an apparent gang-related shooting in Long Beach that left a man dead and a 17-year-old boy wounded.
The attack took place at about 8:40 p.m. Monday, July 1, in the 1200 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.
Responding officers found the teenager suffering from a gunshot wound to his lower chest, and he was transported to a hospital, police reported.
At the hospital, medical personnel told officers that a man identified as 25-year-old Ruben Lopez had driven himself to the hospital after being shot in the upper chest area. Doctors were unable to save him.
The investigation revealed that Lopez was driving south on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue near 12th Street, with a 19-year-old man and an 18-year- old woman in his car, when he got into a verbal argument with a group of young men on the street, according to police.
Someone in that group began firing shots that hit Lopez and the teen, who was crossing the street at the time and was an unintended victim of the shooting, police said. Investigators withheld the name of the boy, whose condition was unclear.
Anyone who witnessed the shooting was asked to call Long Beach police detectives at 562-570-7244. Tipsters can also call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.
