5 hurt in random attack; suspect shot

Man stabbed, 4 others kicked and punched

A 31-year-old man randomly attacked five people about noon Tuesday in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach, leaving four, including a 2-year-old, with minor injuries from kicks and punches and sending one to the hospital with stab wounds from a screwdriver, authorities said, before a police officer shot him as he tried to get into a home.

The stabbing victim and the suspect were hospitalized with injuries that were not life threatening, police said. The four other victims were treated at the scene for minor injuries by Long Beach Fire Department personnel.

The suspect began by kicking and punching a man and a woman in the 200 block of Park Avenue, a residential street near the popular commercial district along Second Street, before moving to the playground at nearby Livingston Park, where he assaulted a man who dropped a 2-year-old baby from his hands, police said.

”I heard the guy attacked a man inside the park,” said Marie Sunderland, who has lived in the Belmont Shore area for about 30 years. “This park is always filled with children. I can't believe someone would threaten the safety of kids.”

Sunderland, 54, heard police helicopters hovering above her home along St. Josephine Avenue in the afternoon and left to investigate after receiving a text from police to avoid the area near Livingston Park.

“We're not used to crimes like this happening in our neighborhood,” she said.

Sunderland said she and other residents have noticed a rise of homeless people sleeping in alleys and along the curbside on Second Street in recent months.

It has not been confirmed whether the suspect was homeless.

Authorities said the suspect then walked to the corner of Park Avenue and Second Street and stabbed a man, with police then chasing him. The suspect then tried to get into a home near Second Street and Quincy Avenue before he was shot once, authorities said.

“This was random, and it did happen in a short period of time,” said Long Beach Police Cmdr. Michael Pennino.

The suspect, whose name has not yet been released, likely faces charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, the commander said.