Police investigate gunfire in Long Beach

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Long Beach police responded to the 100 block of East Fulton Street early Monday after gunfire was reported in the area and found that two shots were fired into a local family’s home.

The incident occurred at 2 a.m. when the city’s ShotSpotter System detected two shots fired in the area.

“Upon arrival, officers saw what appeared to be two gun shot holes in the front side of the house,” said Lt. Mark Stark, a spokesman for the Police Department. “They called detectives and Nassau County crime scene … and determined that two shots went into the house, into the bedroom.”

Stark said that the home is occupied by a family with school-age children; no injuries were reported, and Stark said that the investigation is ongoing. The homeowner could not immediately be reached for comment.

The incident has some local residents on edge, who recalled a shooting in June 2015, when an errant bullet grazed the ear of a 4-year-old boy as he was playing inside his home at the Channel Park Homes.

ShotSpotter was implemented in 2015 following a number of shootings in the North Park, including one in 2014, in which 28-year-old Tyrenzo Brown was killed. The suspects in both of those incidents were apprehended.

“We don’t need these shootings starting again — you have a lot of kids here,” said Marcus Tinker, a deacon at the Christian Light Missionary Baptist Church. “Who wants to be in their home and a bullet comes in? Bullets don’t have names.”

Police officials and local civic leaders say that recent efforts to address gun violence that rocked the North Park community several years ago, such as ShotSpotter, have been effective. In 2015, City Councilwoman Anissa Moore, Tinker and a number of civic leaders and clergy in the North Park also began weekly community walks to address gun violence and diffuse possible retaliation.

Stark said that the last ShotSpotter alert was recorded two weeks ago near Stop & Shop, but added that the report was “unfounded.”

He added that police responded to a noise complaint and a possible fight at a house party on the 100 block of East Hudson on Friday night, but emphasized that it was not known whether the incident was related to Monday's shooting.

Some residents also said there have been a few fights since Thursday night in the area of East Hudson and Pine streets.

Community leaders were planning to hold a meeting at the MLK Center on Monday night to discuss the most recent shooting.