The woman and two men shot at a Bixby Knolls park late Saturday do not appear to be gang members and were attending a family gathering when two gunmen approached and started firing at them, the Long Beach Police Department said.
Fatally wounded was 32-year-old Branson Foster of Paramount, who police say was struck "multiple times over various parts of his body and was pronounced deceased a short time after arriving at the hospital," said department spokeswoman Nancy Pratt.
In a press release issued Sunday afternoon, Pratt said no confrontation preceded the gunfire at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday at Cherry Avenue Park, near 45th Street, in North Long Beach.
"The preliminary investigation indicated there was a group of people at the park for a family gathering when they were approached by two male subjects. Both subjects approached the group, produced handguns, and fired multiple rounds into the group, striking the three victims," Pratt wrote.
"The suspects, who are described as two male Pacific Islanders in their late teens or early 20's, fled the area on foot.... A motive has not yet been determined and the investigation remains ongoing.
"When officers arrived, they discovered three shooting victims in the park. All three were transported to local hospitals by Long Beach Fire Department paramedics. Two of the victims, a 39-year-old male and a 41-year-old female, both from Long Beach, sustained non-life-threatening injuries."
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact Long Beach Police Homicide Detectives Scott Lasch and Donald Goodman at (562) 570-7244. Anonymous tips may be submitted via text or web by visiting www.tipsoft.com.
