More shots fired at Channel Park

Police: shooting happened during dispute

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Long Beach police are investigating another shooting that occurred at the Channel Park Homes on Monday, less than a month after a 4-year-old boy was grazed by a stray bullet at the housing complex.

According to Police Commissioner Mike Tangney, police responded to an incident that occurred on Monday at 11:10 a.m. on Sycamore Court, after a man approached city sanitation workers collecting trash and an argument ensued.

“An argument between one of the collectors and the individual ensued, and the individual pulled out a gun and one shot was fired into the air,” Tangney said.

Tangney said that no one was injured and that the incident is believed to have started over a personal dispute between the two men.

"This is an ongoing thing between these two guys,” said Tangney, who added that witnesses have not yet been cooperative. “At least one shot was fired.”

Tangney said that the investigation is ongoing, and that police are working with the North Park Crisis Intervention Team, a group made up of community leaders and clergy that serves as a liaison between the community and the police.

The latest shooting has only added to ongoing concerns about gun violence in the North Park area. It has already become a campaign issue in the run up to this year’s City Council election, with Republican candidates claiming that shootings have increased in the city since 2012.

Tangney maintains that overall crime is down in Long Beach. He said that shootings in the city have not increased, but acknowledged that they have remained steady, while such incidents have risen in New York City and throughout parts of Nassau County and across the country. He also noted that in most cases, Long Beach police have quickly apprehended the suspected gunmen by working with the community, as was the case with the June 19 shooting at Channel Park.

In that case, police arrested 20-year-old Obe Isaac — the suspected gunman who opened fire during an argument outside the Channel Park Homes that left a 4-year-old boy injured by an errant bullet — just hours after the incident.

“The number of shootings have been steady in Long Beach while they have been increasing all around us,” Tangney said. “It’s been a trend throughout the country. They should be going up but they’re not, and that’s due to our involvement and outreach with the community.”