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1200 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. At 8:30 p.m., Ruben Lopez, 25, was driving southbound on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue near 12th Street with a 19-year-old male in the passenger seat and an 18-year-old female in the back seat. When Lopez got into a verbal altercation with a group of males, they fired several shots that hit him. Lopez drove himself to a hospital but was later pronounced deceased from his injuries. A second shooting victim, a juvenile walking across the avenue when the shots were fired was also hit, receiving a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.

Atlantic Ave. and Hill St. At 4 p.m., a male juvenile was hit by gunfire and received non-life-threatening wounds. Both shootings are being investigated as possibly gang related.

San Diego (405) Freeway. At 10:20 p.m., California State University Long Beach police tried to pull the driver over for driving without headlights, on her car, that is. Turned over to the California Highway Patrol, the woman was pursued for nearly 90 minutes, including a construction zone in Valencia, to an area north of Castaic where she was put into custody at 11:40 p.m. No Magic Mountain today.

Pacific Coast Hwy. near Orange Ave. At 12:15 p.m., a car hit a hydrant, then the male driver and the female passenger took off running, as did the water from the hydrant.

East Long Beach. An automated phone call from the city was received by residents assuring them there were no injuries or damage in Long Beach due to the July 4 & 5 Ridgecrest earthquakes. Not mentioned, clearly unknown, was damage to the historic Soroptimist House built in 1957 on the CSULB campus, where Concerts in the Grove, conferences and wedding receptions have taken place. The school reported Soroptimist separation from beams, separation of the roof or ceiling and the front of the building. The house had been vacant for some time, while tearing it down was considered to be replaced by a much larger alumni center.

1000 block of E. Seventh Street. At 11 a.m., a woman was sexually assaulted in a supposedly secure laundry room by a 20- to 25-year-old, about 5’3” Hispanic male in all dark clothing, carrying a knife.

5400 block of Paramount Blvd. At 9 p.m., an adult man and a woman were stabbed during a fight, while shots were fired. Bullet casings and strike marks were found at the scene.

5800 block of Linden Ave. At 10:35 p.m., very near the earlier stabbing, shots were fired, but no victims were identified. Bullet casings were found.

Washington Pl. and Ninth St. At 9 p.m., a fire broke out in a bungalow, spreading to the entire house when fire crews arrived. One person in the house got out, suffering minor burns.

Ocean Blvd near Bixby Park. At 5:30 a.m., a fire alarm was activated in a high-rise apartment building. It turned out that a garbage chute alarm went off, because an unknown garbage vandal decided to find out what happens if an object on fire might light up the contents. It did. Floors were cleared, but no one was evacuated.

300 block of Magnolia Ave. Long Beach resident, Nancy Romero, 46. was found on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound at 7:40 a.m. Transported to a hospital, Romero died of her injuries. The suspect is described as a white male adult between 30-35 years old, who was last seen fleeing the crime scene on foot. Preliminary investigation indicates Romero and suspect were known to each other.

300 block of Daisy Ave. Evidence led police to the suspect’s possible residence very near the Nancy Romero shooting. After obtaining a search warrant, SWAT was activated and the area was surrounded by police at 2:30 p.m. A low flying red helicopter over the scene was told to gain altitude. A large perimeter was established. Residents of the area were told either to evacuate or shelter in place, their own place. Others were not able to get to their homes. Officers made an announcement to anyone inside to come out. No response. Another announcement. At 6 p.m., an explosion, then shots, finally finding out, nobody home.

Atlantic Ave. and Pacific Coast Hwy. At 1:20 a.m., a man with non-life-threatening injuries to the lower body suffered from a shooting was found by police and hospitalized. Officers said the victim was wounded near 14th Street and Chestnut Avenue and drove to where police found him.

Long Beach Police Department Public Safety Building. Wanted in connection to the July 11 murder of Nancy Romero, John Osborne, a 31-year-old resident of Long Beach, and his attorney arrived at the desk at 4:10 p.m. Taken into custody, Osborne was booked for murder and is being held on $2,000,000 bail at the Long Beach City Jail. “Suspect Osborne and victim Nancy Romero were involved in a dating relationship. Detectives believe the murder to be an isolated incident of domestic violence.”

steve@beachcomber.news