Local police are investigating a shooting at a Long Beach, California law firm Friday that left one man injured and two men, including the suspected shooter, dead. During an initial police briefing, Long Beach Police Department Sgt. Brad Johnson confirmed all three men were employees at the law offices of Larry H. Parker in the Long Beach neighborhood of Bixby Knolls. Johnson would not confirm whether or not the shooter was a former or current employee of the firm; however ABC News described the man as "an employee."
Shooting in the building across the street from my workplace..... not sure how many were killed or injured yet pic.twitter.com/K9zR9Smbhd
According to the Los Angeles Times, the third victim drove himself to the hospital and was listed as being in stable condition.
The Long Beach Police Department has confirmed via Twitter that the perpetrator was not an active shooter and that a murder investigation is underway.
Earlier active shooting incident in LB is now a murder investigation. Suspect is also believed to be deceased at the scene.
UPDATE: Not an active shooter. This was a workplace violence incident, resulting in a homicide investigation, which remains ongoing.
“The police are doing an active investigation,” Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia told the Times. “They are talking to folks that were obviously there and folks affiliated with both the victims and the shooter. All of us are sad and thinking about the victims and families involved.”
A SWAT team was brought in to search the building and confirm there were no other victims. Authorities have also emphasized the shooting was not categorized as a spree with the attacker targeting as many people as possible. Per ABC News, Johnson described the shooting as “workplace violence,” which according to the United States Department of Labor is any, "act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the work site."
Many individuals who live in the area expressed their shock with news oulets and on social media following the attack. Kelly Bray, a 61-year-old man who lives in the area, told reporters that his surprise stems from the fact that, "nothing like this happens here."
