Police shoot man suspected of stabbing 1 person, punching others near California park

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Police shot and wounded a man suspected of stabbing one person with a screwdriver and punching several others, including someone carrying a small child, in areas around a Southern California park, officials said.

Officers responded Tuesday shortly before noon in Long Beach following reports that a man punched a man and woman before walking into Livingston Park, the city’s police department said.

Moments later, the same individual approached a man holding a child, according to a police statement.

“The suspect punched the adult causing him to drop the child. The child sustained minor injuries as a result of the fall,” the statement said.

The suspect then stabbed a man in the upper body with a screwdriver, police said.

Officers confronted the suspect and shot him after he tried to break into a home, the statement said. The man, who was not identified, sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.

The stabbing victim was hospitalized with a non-life-threatening wound and the four other victims were treated at the scene.

The investigation is ongoing.