A man turned a gun on himself after engaging in a string of shootings and carjackings that began in Long Beach and ended at a Carson church with a kidnapped woman Thursday night, police said.
The series of crimes all happened within a 15-minute time period and involved three gunshot victims and one suspect, a 29-year-old resident of Long Beach, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
The rampage first unfolded around 7:15 p.m. when the suspect shot a man in the 200 block of E. 57th Street. The victim, who was wounded in the the upper body, was later taken to a hospital in stable condition.
Next, the same suspect was involved in another shooting and carjacking nearby.
The man shot at a woman, who was not struck by gunfire, and then proceeded to carjack her vehicle and try to flee the area, police said.
But the car shut off and the suspect couldn’t use it.
Next, another shooting was reported in the 80 block of E. 55th Street.
The same suspect had shot a man in the upper body. That person was also taken to a hospital in stable condition.
Another carjacking and shooting was then reported in the 100 block of E. 55th Street, where the same man pointed a firearm at a woman and got in her vehicle while she was still inside.
During that carjacking, the gunman shot a bystander who suffered a graze wound to the upper body, authorities said.
“The suspect then kidnapped the female adult carjacking victim, forcing her to drive her car with him as passenger away from the area,” police told KTLA in an email.
Officers quickly responded to all of the incidents and worked to track down the suspect, who they ultimately found at a church in the 21600 block of Alameda Street in the city of Carson.
At around 8:30 p.m., officers converged on the church and determined that the gunman was inside with the carjacking victim and several other people “who each had a relationship with the suspect,” police said.
Officers set up a perimeter around the church and called in a SWAT team.
While SWAT was at the scene, the carjacking victim was able to get out of the building, unhurt, according to police.
But the gunman stayed inside.
Police brought a hostage negotiator, who tried to call the suspect and negotiate his peaceful surrender.
But while trying to “de-escalate the situation,” SWAT heard gunshots.
They rushed into the building, where they found the gunman with a self-inflicted gunshot wounds to his upper and lower body, police said.
Paramedics immediately began to render aid to the man, who was taken to a local hospital and ultimately pronounced dead. He has not been identified.
The other people who were in the church were found by SWAT, unharmed.
It remains unclear what triggered the series of shootings and carjackings. Police said they’re still investigating the motive.
No further details were available.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Long Beach Police Homicide Detectives Donald Collier or Leticia Gamboa at 562-570-7244.