Gunman dead, 2 wounded after random attack at California beach pier
A man killed by Redondo Beach police Wednesday night randomly targeted people on the pier in a hail of gunfire, authorities said a day after the shootings.
Police officers from across the South Bay region of L.A. raced to the Redondo Beach Pier about 8:20 p.m. local time after a flood of 911 calls reported an active shooter firing at people in the shopping and dining hot spot.
Once there, they found a teenage boy and his relative, both of whom had been shot in their lower torsos. The two were taken to a nearby trauma center and were listed in stable condition Thursday morning with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, according to investigators.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide investigators said the victims were on the pier when a man walked past them and then pulled out a firearm and began indiscriminately shooting.
The gunfire sent bystanders running and others dropping to the ground and lying prone on the pier.
Joe Granda had just sat down with his brother for dinner at Tony’s on the Pier when they heard about five sharp cracks. His brother thought someone was setting off firecrackers, but Granda knew what the sounds were.
Everyone in the restaurant ducked under their tables, he said.
About five to 10 minutes later, Granda said he saw police swarm the pier and take up positions on the roofs of nearby restaurants and other establishments.
He said he saw a man he believes was the shooter hurtle over a railing and onto rocks below the pier, with officers in pursuit.
He said he then heard roughly five gunshots and saw the man stumble.
Police said they tried to get the man, who was standing atop massive boulders on the shoreline, to surrender. The man was armed with both a handgun and a knife and ultimately was struck in the upper torso by police gunfire, authorities said.
“From what I can tell, this was a legitimate active shooter, and we were very lucky we don’t have any deaths as a result,” Redondo Beach police Chief Keith Kauffman said.
The suspect, who was described only as a man in his 30s, did not seem to know the people he had fired on, sheriff’s Lt. Brandon Dean said. “It was indiscriminate shooting.”
