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Long Beach man charged with attempted murder

Victim: ‘He smiled in my face and pulled the trigger’

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A Long Beach man was arrested on Sunday and charged with attempted murder in connection with a shooting two days earlier in which another man was seriously injured, but fled his attacker and managed to wave down nearby firefighters, who rushed to his aid.

According to Police Commissioner Mike Tangney, the victim, a 22-year-old Long Beach resident whose name was not released, was shot in the chest at about 10 p.m. on April 10.

The shooting sparked a search for the gunman, and a police investigation shut down a section of Long Beach Road. On Sunday, Long Beach Police Department detectives arrested LaChance Bryant, 30, in Hempstead, and charged him with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree criminal use of a firearm and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

“They did a thorough investigation, which led them to an address in Hempstead, where he was hiding out,” said Lt. Eric Cregeen, a spokesman for the Police Department.

Bryant was also wanted for an outstanding parole warrant stemming from a previous violent felony conviction, police said. He was arraigned in Long Beach City Court on Monday before Judge Frank Dikranis, and is being held without bail.

Bryant allegedly shot the man in the chest with a shotgun on East Chester Street, near the Long Beach Cinemas parking lot at the corner of Park Avenue and Long Beach Road. The shooting occurred as two Long Beach Fire Department engines were returning from a call on East Fulton Street, and firefighters reported hearing a gunshot as they headed south on Long Beach Road. According to police and firefighters, the victim stumbled onto the roadway.

“He’s coming out looking for aid or assistance, and he falls right in front of the truck,” Cregeen said.

The man was found lying in the street between the two engines, according to the Long Beach Professional Firefighters’ Facebook page. He was bleeding, and had sustained injuries on his left side. Firefighters treated him with what were described as “life-saving interventions” and transported him to South Nassau Communities Hospital.

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