Residents on edge after shootings

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Residents watched from windows and doorways as leaders called on community members to help end the violence. Many used the slogan “See something, say something,” emphasizing that it is up to residents to report unlawful behavior, and not ignore it for fear of retribution.

“We need an intervention,” said Long Beach Housing Authority Executive Director Paul Goodman. “People are looking for a safe quality of life. The housing authority can do so much, but we need you … to have that intervention and make this place safe.”

There is a culture, especially among young people, against “snitching,” said James Hodge, board chair of the Martin Luther King Center. It is up to community members, he said, to change the attitude that violence will be allowed and accepted in the community.

“They can call you a snitch all you want, but what happens when it’s your family?” Hodge asked. “When is it time to speak? It should not be tolerated. It should not be accepted. I’m tired of talking. You get tired of hearing someone got threatened with a gun, someone got shot.”

City Council members, City Manager Jack Schnirman and both democratic candidates for State Assembly, Todd Kaminsky and Anthony Eramo, were on hand to denounce the violence and show their support for making the issue a priority for the city administration.

“The worst part about being city manager is when the phone rings in the middle of the night,” Schnirman said. “The police are doing what we asked; now we need to step up.”

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Tangney spoke about how the police force is combating the problem. The department has started a “box patrol,” he explained, in the area from National Boulevard to Long Beach Boulevard, north of Park Avenue. Two officers in an unmarked vehicle regularly patrol the area, to “catch the bad guys off guard,” Tangney said.

But, he added, the department faces resistance when trying to prosecute these crimes. Victims refuse to press charges or cooperate with authorities. Officers know there are guns in homes, Tangney said, but family members and neighbors won’t turn on one another. He said that the department does not believe the incidents are gang-related, but they are part of a “turf war.”

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