The Long Beach Police Department is asking for the public's help in identifying a suspect or suspects involved in the fatal shooting of a man and a woman on Saturday.
Officers responded to a call at the 900 block of Park Circle in Long Beach at 7:50 p.m. on Saturday evening, where they discovered the victims lying in the street, suffering from apparent gunshot wounds to their upper bodies. The man died on the scene. The woman was transported to a local hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries.
The victims have been identified as 39-year-old Juan Guizar-Gutierrez and 44-year-old Maricela Honorato, both of Long Beach.
According to The Long Beach Post, the pair, who were romantically involved, were slain after a road rage incident that escalated into violence.
The couple were driving back from a fishing trip when they were tailed by a vehicle occupied by two men, relatives told The Post as they gathered for a vigil on Sunday night.
Guizar-Gutierrez was “arguing strongly” with the men after pulling over, Honorato's brother told The Post. The argument then reportedly escalated into a fight and at least one assailant fired on the couple.
Honorato's 21-year-old daughter, Tania Turcios, said she was home studying when she heard the gunshots. She told The Post she ran outside and saw Guizar-Gutierrez lying in a puddle of blood in a driveway.
“It was really hard to see,” Turcios said.
Turcios tried to console her dying mother as police were called to the scene.
“There’s something about her gaze,” Tania said. “Like she was giving up.”
Long Beach police are still investigating the incident.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact Homicide Detectives Ethan Shear, Jose Rodriguez or Michael Hutchinson at (562) 570-7244. Anonymous tips may be submitted through "LA Crime Stoppers" by calling 800-222-TIPS (8477), downloading the "P3 Tips" app to your smartphone (available at the Apple app store or Google Play), or by visiting www.lacrimestoppers.org.
