LONG BEACH, CA — One person was killed and multiple others were wounded during gun violence that followed the grand opening of a new Marathon Burger location on Pine Avenue, police said Sunday afternoon.
The gunfire is believed to have erupted around 3:30 pm, a few hours after a 12 pm ribbon-cutting ceremony for the restaurant, which is part of an LA-based chain that was founded by the late rapper Nipsey Hussle.
According to Long Beach Police, the incident is believed to have originated either in or near a parking garage near Broadway and Pine Avenue, about half a block from the restaurant’s 245 Pine Ave. location.
Witnesses on scene who posted videos to social media said that verbal altercations between people at the parking garage near the restaurant turned violent. One video showed at least nine shots ringing out, leading to people fleeing the area.
Long Beach Police Department spokesperson Andrea Moran said that the LBPD was on scene within minutes and that the cause of the violence is under investigation.
Mayor Rex Richardson, who participated in a ribbon-cutting during the grand opening, issued a statement calling the violence unacceptable and intolerable.
“We will not allow violence to define our downtown or undermine the progress we are making,” he said. “We will not retreat from investing in safe, active public spaces.”
This story will be updated as additional information becomes available.