Two Dead, One Injured in Shooting at a Long Beach Bar

One person was dead inside the bar, along with a man believed to be the shooter

Two people are dead, one of whom is believed to be the shooter, and one more is injured after a shooting early Wednesday morning in a Long Beach bar.

An officer was flagged down while patrolling the 1700 block of East Artesia Boulevard at 12:20 a.m. by someone claiming that shots were fired inside Bottoms Up Tavern, said Shaunna Dandoy, a public information officer for the Long Beach Police Department.

The officer responded and heard gunshots inside the bar. They engaged the gunman, shooting at him from outside the building. The officer was not injured, Dandoy said.

Delfon Kinney, Sr., 48, of Long Beach, and Manuel Marquez, 44, of Paramount died at the scene, according to the coroner's office. Kinney was reported to the coroner's office as having fatally shot Marquez, said Sarah Ardalani of the coroner's office.

Another man was hospitalized with a non-life threatening gunshot wound to his upper body, according to police. 

It is unknown what led to the shooting, whether the shooter acted alone or how many people were inside the bar at the time.

It was also not immediately known if Kinney was wounded by police or by an unknown person with whom he apparently had engaged in a gunfight in the bar before police arrived at the scene, police said. An autopsy was pending.

According to police, a patrolling officer was flagged down by someone who said there was a shooting inside the bar.

"As the officer approached the business, he heard additional shots being fired,: Long Beach police spokeswoman Shaunna Dandoy said in a statement. "The officer could see into the business, saw the suspect with a gun and an officer-involved shooting occurred."

Meanwhile, police received a 911 call from a patron in the bar "indicating there was a shooting inside and there were other patrons locked in a storeroom," Dandoy said.

"The initial officer lost sight of the suspect and although it was believed the suspect was still inside, his exact location was unknown," she said.

A SWAT team was activated to assure that the bar was safe. The building has been cleared, according to LBPD.

"Once inside, SWAT officers located the male adult suspect on the ground, non-responsive and still holding the firearm."

"Based on the preliminary investigation, the suspect was inside the business when he confronted and shot a male adult working inside the business," Dandoy said.

"Although this victim was shot in the upper torso, he was able to run out of the business. He was later taken to a local hospital by the Long Beach Fire Department with non-life-threatening injuries," she said.

"After this initial shooting with the employee, there is evidence that the suspect exchanged gunfire with an unknown patron of the business," she said. "The suspect then moved to another portion of the business, where he shot and killed an adult male victim before being confronted by the officer."

No officers were injured. Several patrons reported minor injuries they suffered while fleeing the business, she said, adding that police were working to identify and locate the person who may have exchanged gunfire with the suspect.

"The motive behind the initial shooting is unknown at this time," Dandoy said. "The department believes that the individuals who reported the incident and the quick actions of the officers involved prevented additional casualties during this incident."

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office will conduct a separate investigation of the incident as they do with all officer-involved shootings.

Anyone with information on the case was urged to call homicide detectives at 562-570-7244, or Crime Stoppers at 800 222-TIPS.

This is a developing story. Refresh this page for updates. 

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