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Long Beach police investigate gunfire in North Park

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Long Beach police were investigating two separate incidents of gunfire reported in the North Park area early Sunday. In one case, police said, the shots hit a nearby home, and in the other, an apartment.

Lt. Mark Stark, a spokesman for the Police Department, said that the city’s ShotSpotter System detected gunfire in the area on Sept. 23, beginning at 12:23 a.m. on the 100 block of East Pine Street, where several shots were fired.

“Officers on the scene found five shell casings,” Stark said.

Stark said that the rounds struck a nearby home, went through a wall and struck a television. The occupants of the home were not injured, he said.

ShotSpotter, a “real-time” gunshot-recognition software system, was implemented in 2015 in the hope of staving off a wave of gun violence at the time. The software directs police to the precise location of gunfire and uses detectors and cameras mounted on poles throughout the city.

At 2:28 a.m., Shotspotter alerted police to five shots fired on National Boulevard near the Channel Park Homes.

The gunshots penetrated a nearby apartment and hit a television inside, Stark said. No injuries were reported.

One source told the Herald that a local family with children lived in the apartment at Channel Park, and that both incidents have residents on edge. Attempts to reach the occupants of both homes were unsuccessful.

Stark said that it had yet to be determined whether the incidents were related. He added that the investigation is ongoing.