Officer, suspect injured in shooting at Long Beach apartment complex

A Long Beach police officer and a 31-year-old man were shot Sunday night in an exchange of gunfire involving several police officers at an apartment complex.

A woman called at 9:06 p.m. reporting that a man had fired shots in the 3000 block of East Artesia Boulevard, according to a statement provided by the Long Beach Police Department.

After an officer arrived on scene, a woman who was “screaming for help hysterically while pulling on the patrol car door handle” said the gunman was in a nearby apartment complex, police said.

After more officers arrived, they entered the apartment complex courtyard and were shot at by the gunman. Officers fired several shots at the man, police said.

The gunman dropped his handgun and fled, but police later detained him using a Taser, police said. The suspected gunman was identified as Eric Arroyo, and he was arrested on suspicion of attempting to kill a police officer, officials said.

Arroyo and the police officer were transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police department spokeswoman Marlene Arrona said.

Officials with the Long Beach Police Officers Assn. expressed concern over the shooting.

“We’ve had an officer-involved shooting tonight in north Long Beach. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated,” the group tweeted.

The investigation into the shooting prompted police to briefly close parts of Artesia Boulevard on Monday.

The shooting will be separately investigated by the police department as well as the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, which is customary in all officer-involved shootings.

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