Long Beach Police Kill Man Wielding Gun, Wound Hostage

A shotgun-wielding man was killed and his female hostage was wounded by two Long Beach police officers who fired at least five rounds after the suspect threatened to kill the woman and the officers, investigators reported Saturday.

Francene Landry, 29, of Long Beach, the hostage who was hit by two police bullets, was reported in stable condition at St. Mary Medical Center. The name of the 22-year-old dead man was withheld pending notification of his parents.

Police Lt. Jim Reed said Officers Jeff Johnson, 26, and Nick Lovell, 32, responded to a call for assistance at about midnight Friday in the 1900 block of Palmer Court, after neighbors reported that a man was firing a shotgun.

When the officers arrived, they saw the suspect carrying a shotgun in one hand and grasping the hostage with the other, Reed said. The suspect repeatedly threatened to kill the woman and pointed his gun at the policemen, ordering them to drop their weapons.

With the hostage still in his grasp, the suspect advanced on the officers, who were crouched behind the doors of their patrol car, Reed said. As the suspect neared the patrol car, the officers fired several rounds, striking the suspect and his hostage.

Reed said the shooting is being investigated by Long Beach homicide detectives in conjunction with the special investigation division of the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.