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West Carson St. and Via Oro Ave. At 10:30 a.m. an attempted traffic stop of a stolen pickup truck at Carson and Wilmington Avenue turned into a pursuit that ended up in Long Beach, when avoidance of a spike strip caused the truck to crash into a wall. That’s when the gunfire began, as the passenger got out of the truck and allegedly shot at deputies. Seven deputies returned fire, with both the driver and the shooter wounded. The handgun allegedly used by the suspect was recovered from the scene and the suspects were taken to hospitals in unknown condition. No deputies were injured. The wounded men, both in their 20s, were not identified.

Southeast corner of Nature Center at El Dorado Park. At 5 p.m., three spot fires broke out in three acres charring one acre. The Orange County Fire Authority’s water-dropping helicopter helped knock down the fires. This incident amounted to the second time fire struck the area in several months.

2300 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. At 11:05 p.m., a man who was possibly under the influence went to hospital with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and said he was shot earlier that night and provided multiple possible crime locations.

300 block of E. Forhan St. At 1:55 a.m., a man sitting in his vehicle heard shots and gunfire hit his vehicle. He drove to Susana Road and Victoria Street where police found him.

1500 block of W. 31st St. At 7 p.m. came a “shots fired” call at Silverado Park with a wounded man on scene and later, a second male turning up at a hospital with a gunshot wound from the same incident. With both victims in stable condition, gang detectives also showed up and are investigating.

Torrance. The last identified suspect in a gang beating at 15th Street and Long Beach Blvd., a 16-year-old juvenile from Long Beach, was booked for assault with a deadly weapon and participation in a criminal street gang and is currently being held at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall.

Broadway and Alamitos Blvd. At 6:45 p.m., road rage came to town in the form of a gray minivan, the driver with out-of-state plates getting into a back and forth with another motorist in a Jeep, a veteran no less, travelling the same direction. Of special note was a big bowie style knife the out-of-stater pulled out and appeared to lick. Soon after, the knife licker walked up to the other guy and told him to behave himself.

Pacific Ave. and Burnett St. At 11:55 p.m., as two pedestrians crossed Pacific Avenue in a marked crosswalk on the north side of the intersection, they were struck by a white, possibly four-door, unknown model vehicle driving southbound on Pacific Avenue at Burnett Street. The vehicle fled the scene and was last seen heading south on Pacific Avenue. A female adult later died of her injuries and a critically injured 35-year-old male adult resident of Wilmington remains in critical condition.

Loma Ave. and Broadway. A two-car noon accident turned in to a five-car incident with three cars being struck.

4300 block Long Beach Blvd. At 10:10 a.m., a 2015 Kia Rio, driven by a 90-year-old female Los Alamitos resident failed to yield when it exited onto Long Beach Blvd. from a driveway and was struck by a 2010 Dodge Challenger, driven by a 27-year-old female Long Beach resident south of the driveway in question. A total of nine occupants from both vehicles were injured. All occupants were taken to hospitals. A male passenger of the 2015 Kia, 91-year-old Howard Schaack of Los Alamitos was later pronounced deceased at the hospital from his injuries. Of the seven occupants in the Dodge Challenger, only one male adult passenger was using his seatbelt. The female driver and five minor children in the backseat were unrestrained.

Long Beach. Police arrested 33-year-old Matthew Caple of Long Beach as the suspected road rager on Tuesday, knife licking et al. Caple was released on $30,601 bond Friday morning.

1400 East Pacific Coast Hwy. At 9:45 p.m., a man with a handgun robbed a business for a third time. The other robberies occurred on March 22 and on May 20. He also robbed a Taco Bell on 2500 East East Pacific Coast Hwy. “In each of the incidents, the suspect enters the restaurants, places an order with the cashier and during the transaction pulls out a handgun and demands money from the employee. None of the victims reported injuries as a result of the robberies,” said police in a release.The suspect is described as a male, 18 to 20-years old with a medium build.

steve@beachcomber.news