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Man killed in Father’s Day shooting while in car with 7-year-old son in Long Beach

A map of Long Beach and surrounding areas shows where a man was found mortally wounded and his son injured after a shooting
By Gregory YeeStaff Writer 
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Police are searching for a suspect after a man was killed and his 7-year-old son injured in a shooting on Father’s Day in Long Beach, authorities said.

Officers were dispatched at 8:46 p.m. Sunday to the intersection of Anaheim Street and Roswell Avenue, according to the Long Beach Police Department.

The officers found a man with gunshot wounds to his upper body in a vehicle, police said. Firefighters took the victim, identified Monday as 30-year-old Leevi Matuni Maseuli of Palmdale, to a hospital, where he died.

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Maseuli’s son was also in the vehicle during the shooting, police said. The boy wasn’t shot but suffered “minor non-life-threatening injuries.” Authorities didn’t say how he was injured.

The boy was taken to a hospital for treatment and released to his mother’s care shortly after, police said, adding that emotional support services were offered to Maseuli’s family.

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“To commit such a heinous crime in any circumstance is unacceptable, but to do so on Father’s Day in front of the victim’s child is even more disgraceful,” said Long Beach Police Chief Wally Hebeish. “This blatant disregard for our community will not go unanswered, and our investigators are working diligently to identify anyone involved in the victim’s death.”

Few details about the shooting were provided Monday.

A preliminary investigation determined Maseuli was sitting in the vehicle when he was shot, police said.

“Right now, there is no suspect description or a known motive for the shooting,” the Long Beach Police Department said in a news release.

Anyone with information is asked to call Dets. Michael Hubbard and Jesus Espinoza at (562) 570-7244.

Anonymous tips may be submitted to Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or www.lacrimestoppers.org.

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Gregory Yee

Gregory Yee was a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Before joining the newsroom in 2021, he spent five years covering criminal justice and breaking news for the Post and Courier in Charleston, S.C. He was a native Southern Californian and graduated from UC Irvine in 2012 with a degree in journalism and Spanish literature. Yee died Jan. 4, 2023.

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