Authorities on Tuesday identified a 51-year-old man suspected of fatally shooting two people in North Long Beach on Monday, including a woman he was romantically involved with, before he was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound following an hours-long standoff with police.
Officers were sent to the 300 block of East 63rd Street, near Atlantic Avenue, about 11:15 a.m. after reports of shots fired, police said. A woman was found laying on the ground with gunshot wounds to the upper body, and another victim, a man, was found nearby in a vehicle with gunshot wounds to the upper body.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman was taken to hospital where she later died.
The victims were identified as 51-year-old Shoneka Lars and 71-year-old Donnell Crosby, both Long Beach residents.
The suspect, Christopher Barnes, fled to a nearby house following the shootings and barricaded himself, according to the county Department of Medical Examiner and the Long Beach Police Department.
SWAT negotiators tried and were unsuccessful in making contact with the suspect over the phone, police said. Tear gas was used inside the residence and a K9 unit was brought in to enter the residence.
Barnes was found inside dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, and a firearm was found inside the home
Barnes and Lars were believed to be in a relationship, police said, though the extent of the relationship, along with a motive for the shooting, remained under investigation Tuesday.
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