LOS ANGELES — A 29-year-old Long Beach man shot and killed himself after shooting three other men, committing two carjackings, kidnapping a woman and barricading himself and the hostage inside a church, police said.
He first shot a man in his upper body around 7:16 p.m. Thursday, Long Beach police said in a news release. The victim was hospitalized and is stable.
The gunman then shot at a woman and carjacked her vehicle but was unable to drive away because the vehicle shut off, police said. The woman was not struck by gunfire.
The gunman next shot another man in his upper body a couple blocks away, police said. The victim was hospitalized and is stable.
The gunman then approached a vehicle in the 100 block of East 55th Street, pointed a gun at a woman driving it and entered the vehicle while she was still inside, according to investigators. During the carjacking he shot another man, who went to a hospital after suffering a graze wound to his upper body, police said.
The gunman forced the woman to drive him away from the area, according to investigators. Police caught up with them at a church in Carson around 8:30 p.m. Several other people who had relationships with the suspect were also inside, police said.
Officers established a perimeter and called SWAT. The woman who had been kidnapped was able to leave the building uninjured, police said. A hostage negotiator tried to call the man and negotiate his surrender, but SWAT personnel heard gunshots, according to investigators. They then entered the building and found the man had shot himself in the upper and lower body, police said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. His identity was not released.
The other adults inside the church were unharmed. Trauma Intervention Program volunteers responded to provide emotional support to them and the kidnapping victim, police said. No shots were fired by officers during the incidents, according to investigators.
The motive for the alleged crimes was under investigation.
