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CNN Live At Daybreak

Motive in Long Beach Shooting Unknown

Aired May 31, 2002 - 06:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Police don't know what caused a 35- year-old man to go on a shooting spree at a Long Beach, California grocery store. Walter Richards with CNN affiliate KTLA has this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER RICHARDS, CNN AFFILIATE KTLA REPORTER (voice-over): Horrified employees told police what they saw, shaken customers escorted away by officers thankful that they are alive. But several others who were inside this busy neighborhood market about 5:30 this evening were not as fortunate. That's the time a gunman just walks inside and begins blasting people.

SGT. STEVE FILIPPINI, LONG BEACH POLICE: When our officers arrived, they confronted the suspect, an officer-involved shooting did occur, and the suspect was struck by the officer's gunfire. He was transported to a local hospital, currently listed in critical condition. Our officers also learned that six additional people were struck during the gunfire caused by the suspect prior to our officers' arrival. Two of those people are deceased.

RICHARDS: A 22-year-old woman and a 7-year-old girl are dead. This man tells us his dad and mom got out of the store OK.

E. GARCIA JR., SON OF WITNESS: He is a little shaky, him and my mother, but what they saw, they basically ended up running into the back of the store into the warehouse section up on the second level. About eight other people that were in there, they all ran in the back, including people that worked there.

RICHARDS: The wounded victims, taken to St. Mary's and Long Beach Memorial Hospitals, are described as two men, 40 and 28 years old, and two women, ages 58 and 40. This man standing across the street watched as two officers went inside the store to take on the suspect.

JOE LAROCOUE, WITNESS: They both walked in, crouched, weapons down, followed by shouts to get down on the ground now, several times to get down. There was no return of words from anybody inside, not even a split-second later were shots fired right after that.

RICHARDS: Detectives are still trying to unravel why the suspect walked inside and began shooting. FILIPPINI: That's something we are trying to determine. Our investigators are here on scene. As you could imagine, there were a number of people inside the market when the shooting occurred.

RICHARDS: About 50 inside the market; those witnesses providing what they know.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And that was Walter Richards of CNN Los Angeles affiliate KTLA.

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