Long Beach barricade ends; suspect in custody

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A man who allegedly shot a code enforcement officer in the head was taken into custody after a nearly seven-hour standoff in Long Beach.

Authorities responded to a shooting at Gaviota Avenue and 61st Street just before 8 a.m. Thursday. Police say an adult male victim, identified only as a code enforcement officer, was taken to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries. He is expected to survive.

A SWAT team responded after the suspect barricaded himself in a home in the 6100 block of John Avenue. Nearby residents were evacuated.

"I heard some gunshots, and I looked out the window, and I just see the cops saying, 'Look out,' and stuff," said neighbor Andy Garcia. "They just came and evacuated me out my back door because they said I was like right in front."

According to neighbors, the suspect has had issues with the city for years over cleaning up his property.

"The code enforcement probably has been bothering him for about the past 10-11 years, about like his property, so I'm sure that after so long, dealing with that, it kind of got to him," said a neighbor identified as Lamar. "I never had any inclination that he would do something like this."

Police say the suspect took shots at officers throughout the standoff with a rifle that had a scope on it, and kept yelling at officers to shoot him.

"Tremendous restraint was shown by the officers who dealt with this thing all day," said Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell.

The suspect, whose name has not been released, was taken into custody just before 3 p.m. He was taken to a local hospital to be treated for dog bites he received while being taken into custody.

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