LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A gunman who opened fire from an alley into a party killed three people and wounded nine others in California before fleeing in a vehicle, police said Wednesday.
A search was underway for at least one suspect, possibly more, after the Tuesday night attack at a Long Beach home.
Police Chief Robert Luna called the shooter a coward and urged residents to come forward with any information that might lead to an arrest.
"We need to get these dangerous people off the street," he said.
Authorities believe the shooting was planned, though a motive had not yet been determined and there was no evidence it was gang-related.
"I don't believe this was just a random act of violence," Luna said.
Police said a man with his face concealed fired the shots from an alley behind the home into the gathering of 25 to 30 people, including a group of co-workers, then fled in a vehicle.
Luna said arriving officers found a horrific, bloody scene.
Three men were killed, and seven women and two men were taken to hospitals with gunshot wounds. Their conditions could not be immediately determined.
The names of those killed have been withheld pending family notification.
Luna said he doesn't remember a case with so many victims in the coastal city of 470,000 people after more than three decades working there.
