Police in Long Beach have decided to increase their presence in communities affected by a series of stabbings that occurred over a nine-hour period last weekend.
“LBPD will have an additional police presence today, including officers and Neighborhood Safety Bike Team officers, to engage with residents and businesses,” according to a statement from the Long Beach Police Department.
The statement detailed the circumstances surrounding each incident that occurred between Saturday evening and Sunday morning, starting around 6:20 p.m.
At that point, officers were dispatched to the 2000 block of E. Pacific Coast Highway, where they learned an argument had escalated into a fight. A male victim, who remains unidentified, suffered several stab wounds to the upper body and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where they are in stable condition. No arrests have been made in this incident.
Hours later, around 2 a.m., officers were dispatched to the 5100 block of Second Street in the Belmont Shore area, where another physical altercation between two men escalated into a stabbing. One of the men was stabbed in the upper body and was rushed to a nearby hospital where he is listed in critical condition. When officers arrived, the suspect fled the scene and has not yet been located.
Within the same hour, around 2:20 a.m., police were dispatched to a hospital after learning that two victims had recently been stabbed. They learned that two women had been involved in a fight in the 200 block of Pine Avenue with a third woman who allegedly stabbed each of the others in the upper body. Both are said to be stable as of Sunday evening. Despite their attempts to locate a crime scene, the officers were unable to do so.
The fourth and final stabbing occurred at approximately 3 a.m. in the 5100 block of Second Street, similar to the second stabbing of the evening. However, officers said they did not believe this incident was related to the first one at that location. Officers were sent to a hospital almost two hours later, around 4:50 a.m., after hearing that a stabbing victim had arrived. They learned that the unidentified victim was involved in a dispute with a group of women when one suspect punched the victim and a second stabbed him in the upper body. The victim’s condition is believed to be stable.
Anyone with information about any of the incidents is urged to contact investigators at (562) 435-6711.
