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Mostly Cloudy Two men shot near Channel Park Homes
Police search for New Year’s Day shooting suspect
An early-morning shooting rocked the Channel Park Homes area just hours into the new year, when gunshots that rang out near the apartment complex left two men who were fleeing the scene injured.
The latest shooting came after a man was killed at the complex in late September, and after residents held a number of rallies and vigils with community leaders and local officials, calling for an end to the sporadic gun violence at Channel Park, which is operated by the Long Beach Housing Authority, over the past year.
According to Long Beach police, the incident occurred at 3:39 a.m. on Jan. 1. Officers responded to numerous 911 calls reporting shots fired in the area of 12 Sycamore Court, between National Boulevard and Center Street — a block from City Hall and Long Beach Police Department headquarters.
LBPD spokesman Lt. Eric Cregeen said that police officers who were first on the scene saw a vehicle leaving the area, headed south on National Boulevard. Police stopped it in front of Fire Department headquarters and found two men inside with gunshot wounds. One man had been shot in the abdomen, Cregeen said, and the other had been hit in the arm.
Long Beach firefighters treated the victims en route to South Nassau Communities Hospital in two LBFD ambulances. One victim was treated and released.
Police did not disclose the names of the victims, who were both Long Beach residents, Cregeen said. Police Commissioner Mike Tangney said that police were searching for the suspected shooter, Long Beach resident Dennis Bradley, who they alleged shot the men at close range with a semi-automatic handgun.
“The [victims] were in the Channel Park Homes area and had gotten into a discussion which turned heated, at which point Mr. Bradley shot one of the victims three times and the other once,” Tangney said, adding that the gun had not been recovered. Tangney said the incident was not gang-related, but declined to offer further details about the incident on Wednesday, citing an ongoing investigation.
