Sunday Safety Update: 07/05/2015 to 07/11/2015

The MacArthur Park Neighborhood was quiet last week; the outskirts, not so much. Within the borders of the neighborhood itself there were mostly car thefts, vandalism and a few assaults in places were assault is unfortunately common in the neighborhood. Based on what happened last week, please keep your car locked around Rotary Centennial Park. Also, be very cautious around Dawson/ St Louis and Anaheim. That was the location of the homeless man who was stabbed on the 4th, and things are still happening in that area, though they are occurring less often..

May and June has seen a 5.3% spike in crime. And there have been an alarming number of shootings, too many of which have been fatal. “We are very concerned about a recent spike in violent assaults,” said Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna, in a release. “We are working closely with city departments on a public safety initiative, and increasing our efforts to enhance partnerships within the community. Keeping our city safe is everyone’s responsibility, and I look forward to working together to make an impact on crime.”

This slowed the loitering down

While Mayor Garcia did post on his Facebook Page a notice that he was concerned which prompted a lot of community feedback, it has rapidly been buried by other posts touting his one year record. Underlying concerns that the violence may be the result of gangs, was quickly denied by Long Beach police at a community meeting to discuss the violence which has predominately affected Central Long Beach. Since the meeting there was another shooting on the other side of the intersection of 17th an Alamitos, closer to Cerritos street. While it does not show up as a homicide in the Crime Reports map, the victim has since been pronounced dead of his injuries.

42-year-old man shot on a Long Beach street this week has died of his injuries, authorities said Saturday. Police responding to a report of a shooting found Tomas Palmas, 42, lying in the street in the 1700 block of Cerritos Avenue about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

The other side of this intersection is where Anthony Holston the III was murdered on June 5th, 2015. The police, the mayor, sixth district council, the police, the Press Telegram and the Long Beach Post have all been informed about the incredible amount of loitering and drug traffic at this intersection. The police briefly had a camera at the intersection, which really stopped the loitering until it came down a week later.  In other words, even though this happened outside our neighborhood, please be very cautious at the intersection of Alamitos and 17th. Also be aware, if anything else happens on either side of this intersection, absolutely everyone in the city government who needed to be informed to prevent it, was informed, and so has the press. Minor Update: Most of the street lights on 17th in this area are obscured by trees. I'm going to try to report them for trimming.

Yes, I know this update was released on Tuesday.