LONG BEACH, Calif. – At least one person is dead after a shooting in Long Beach amid the grand opening of a new Marathon Burger, a franchise envisioned by and later launched to honor late rapper Nipsey Hussle, officials with the Long Beach Police Department confirmed to KTLA.
Officers responded to reports of a shooting involving multiple victims just after 3:30 p.m. outside the grand opening of a new Marathon Burger near Broadway and Pine Avenue the city’s busy downtown corridor.
Medical personnel with the Long Beach Fire Department arrived and rushed three adult males in their 20’s to the hospital, one of whom was in critical condition and required life saving measures outside the restaurant.
In an updated statement, Long Beach officials said that victim succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.
Details are limited and it’s unclear exactly how the violence unfolded. Police told KTLA that they are still investigating the motive and circumstances around the shooting.
Tyerae Bailey, who witnessed some of the ordeal, told KTLA that about 50 to 60 people were waiting in line outside Marathon Burgers when all of a sudden, the crowd started running after shots rang out down the block.
“It was literally chaos for like 10 or 15 seconds. I ducked behind one of the little boards you take photos at over there,” he said. “I only heard one gunshot. That’s actually what made me really lock in and take cover.
In cellphone footage captured in the aftermath of the incident at least two people, a man and a woman, were seen in handcuffs while officers placed them in the back of separate patrol cruisers.
Police appeared to be trying to set up a perimeter around the scene while dozens of people, as well as motorists in the area, were looking on.
In a nearby alleyway, firefighters were spotted loading one of the gunshot victims lying down on a gurney into an ambulance.
One was killed and two others injured after gunfire erupted outside the grand opening of the Nipsey Hussle-branded Marathon Burgers in Long Beach on March 1, 2026. (IG @Prezz_TY)
One was killed and two others injured after gunfire erupted outside the grand opening of the Nipsey Hussle-branded Marathon Burgers in Long Beach on March 1, 2026. (IG @Prezz_TY)
One was killed and two others injured after gunfire erupted outside the grand opening of the Nipsey Hussle-branded Marathon Burgers in Long Beach on March 1, 2026. (IG @Prezz_TY)
One was killed and two others injured after gunfire erupted outside the grand opening of the Nipsey Hussle-branded Marathon Burgers in Long Beach on March 1, 2026. (IG @Prezz_TY)
One was killed and two others injured after gunfire erupted outside the grand opening of the Nipsey Hussle-branded Marathon Burgers in Long Beach on March 1, 2026. (Citizen)
One was killed and two others injured after gunfire erupted outside the grand opening of the Nipsey Hussle-branded Marathon Burgers in Long Beach on March 1, 2026. (KTLA)
One was killed and two others injured after gunfire erupted outside the grand opening of the Nipsey Hussle-branded Marathon Burgers in Long Beach on March 1, 2026. (Citizen)
Hussle, a Grammy Award winning artist whose real name was Ermias Asghedom, launched the music, fashion entertainment brand Marathon in 2010, and was actively working to open more L.A. businesses when he was shot and killed outside one of his stores in 2019.
His older brother and longtime collaborator “Blacc Sam” Asghedom ultimately launched the first Marathon Burgers in the 7500 block of Melrose in L.A. to honor Hussle’s legacy as an artist, community activist and an entrepreneur in March 2025.
“He was always talking about branding, like, ‘We need a Marathon Water, we need a Marathon Burger,’” Hussle’s older brother told the Los Angeles Times at the opening of the L.A. location. “This is definitely Nip’s vision and imprint. I know he would have been like, ‘Yeah, this is perfect.’”
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Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson participated in Sunday’s red ribbon cutting, the burger chain’s third location after a second one opened last year in Venice. The grand opening was also attended by Snoop Dogg and YG, though TMZ reported that both rappers left long before the shooting occurred.
Asghedom attended the event as well, though it’s unclear if he was at the restaurant when the gunfire broke out.
A spokesperson for Marathon Burgers told KTLA in a statement that the shooting was not connected to the grand opening event.
“The opening was a huge success with strong community support. The incident being reported was NOT connected to our event or even within our block party. The opening itself proceeded safely and without issue. The restaurant remains open and customers are still flowing in and out,” the statement read in part.
As for Nipsey Hussle, was memorialized at another event just this weekend. On Saturday the Los Angeles intersection of Slauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard was adorned with a new sign noting that the area is now also known as “Nipsey Hussle Square.”
“If you knew what Nipsey Hussle stood for and know what the brand Marathon Burgers has stood for since it’s been opened, you would hope that this would bring the community together for us to have our spot,” Bailey told KTLA. “Let’s not let this situation discredit anything good that happened today. A lot of good happened today, but hopefully we learn from this lesson and move forward as a community.”
KTLA Assignment Editor Vanessa Garcia contributed to this report.
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