Three people were injured in a shooting Tuesday in Long Beach that prompted a wild police pursuit to downtown Los Angeles that included an exchange of gunfire with officers on the Long Beach (710) Freeway, a sheared fire hydrant and a toppled power pole.
Officers responded to the original shooting call around 12:25 a.m. Tuesday in the 200 block of Aquarium Way, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
Two men were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and another man was treated at the scene, police said.
Officers subsequently located the suspect’s vehicle in the area of Burnett Street and Pacific Avenue, where the driver refused to pull over and sparked a chase, according to the LBPD.
The pursuit made its way onto the northbound 710 Freeway, and at one point, the suspect and officers exchanged gunfire, police said. Neither the officers nor the suspect were struck by gunfire, according to the LBPD.
The chase ended in downtown Los Angeles, where the suspect’s vehicle ran over and sheared a fire hydrant and slammed into a power pole. The suspect was taken into custody, but not before police deployed a less-than-lethal round, which did not strike the man, police said.
The suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was checked by paramedics and taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries suffered in the chase-ending crash. The man could be seen smiling at television cameras, at one point shouting out words of support for labor unions before he was placed in an ambulance.
Police said a firearm was recovered at the scene, authorities added.
Electrical service was briefly knocked out for an unknown number of customers downtown due to the damaged power pole, and Department of Water and Power crews quickly responded to conduct repairs.
All lanes of the northbound 710 were closed through much of the morning commute at Willow Street as police investigated the shooting that occurred on the freeway. Officers could be seen walking on the freeway in search of shell casings or other evidence. The connectors from the San Diego (405) and Gardena (91) freeways were also closed and a Sigalert was issued.
All lanes were reopened at about 8:15 a.m.