Coroner IDs Man, 22, Killed By Long Beach Police

LONG BEACH, CA — An autopsy was pending Saturday on a 22-year-old Long Beach man armed with a shotgun to determine if he died from a police officer's bullet or from injuries suffered when a police vehicle struck him.

He was publicly identified as Luis Ramirez, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

Police responded to a call that the suspect had opened fire in front of a restaurant in the area of Atlantic Avenue and Market Street about 9:20 p.m. Thursday and wounded a man, according to the Long Beach Police Department.

The suspect remained in the area and as the first officer arrived and encountered the armed suspect, an officer-involved shooting occurred near the intersection, the department said.

As a second officer in a marked police vehicle arrived on scene, the suspect fired at the police vehicle, striking it twice and prompting the officer to intentionally ram the suspect with the police vehicle "stopping the suspect from continuing to fire," the LBPD said.

"The suspect is deceased and he is on scene," Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna told reporters Thursday night. "There was an officer- involved shooting, so we don't know if he's deceased from the gunfire or possibly when he was struck by the officer he was shooting at."

A shotgun was recovered at the scene.

Responding officers were also informed a woman was struck by gunfire.

Long Beach fire paramedics took two victims to a hospital, one in critical condition. ABC7 reported the second victim was taken to a hospital with stable vital signs. An officer was taken to a hospital as a precaution, police said.

It was not known why the suspect opened fire in front of the restaurant.

Anyone who witnessed the shootings was asked to call LBPD Homicide Detectives Michael Hubbard or Leticia Gamboa at 562-570-7244 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or lacrimestoppers.org.

—City News Service