New person of interest sought in man's death
Police are looking for a man in his 20s seen in the area
A new person of interest is being sought in the killing of a 57-year-old man who was gunned down at a LongBeach park five years ago, police announced on Thursday, and authorities are again calling for the public's help to solve the case.
On July 21, 2018, Fred Taft, a truck driver who grew up in Wilmington, was shot to death in a restroom at the Pan American Park while attending a family reunion, police said.
At the time police were seeking a man believed to be in his 50s, but authorities now are seeking a man in his 20s who was seen leaving the area in a blue minivan, Chief Wally Hebeish said in a news conference at the Long Beach Police Department attended by Taft's family.
Hebeish did not say why the man in his 20s is considered a person of interest. A motive for the killing has also not been determined, though family members said they still believe it was racially motivated.
Allison Flanagan, Taft's niece, cited a racial slur scrawled on tables at the park. Police said Thursday there was no evidence that the slurs were related to Taft's slaying.
Taft's only child, Corie Taft, wasn't at the park when the shooting happened. Her father called that day and offered to take her 10-year-old son to the reunion, but she told him she planned to bring him later because the boy had a basketball game and it was photo day.
She said on Thursday that the last five years have been “miserable.”
“I just had another baby girl and she'll never get to meet her grandfather,” she said. “I just live day by day hoping one day to get some type of closure.”
A $30,000 reward launched by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the Long Beach City Council for information leading to the arrest of the gunman remains in effect.
Anyone with information on the killing should contact the Long Beach Police Homicide Detail at 562-570-7244, or submit tips anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.