Long Beach PD release body cam video of a man being shot after he stabbed people with a screwdriver

A 31-year-old homeless man suspected of randomly attacking five people in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach in late May was shot by police after attempting to enter a residence following multiple orders from officers to surrender, body-worn camera footage released on Thursday, June 29, shows.

Just before noon on May 30, officers were called to the 200 block of Park Avenue near Livingston Park after a man and a woman were attacked with a sharp object, initially thought to be a knife, according to the Long Beach Police Department. After the first attack, the suspect, Mario Najara, made his way into the park where he repeatedly stabbed a man who was with his daughter and grandchild.

The assault caused the victim to fall to the ground and drop his 2-year-old grandchild.

Najara then stole the victim’s cell phone and fled south down Park Avenue toward 2nd Street, where he stabbed another man who was standing outside a restaurant, police said. The attack was caught by one of the restaurant’s security cameras.

Bystanders along 2nd Street pointed the suspect out to arriving officers.

Najara then fled down a breezeway behind the Wells Fargo bank on 2nd Street while shouting “shoot me,” to one of the officers, the video shows. He then made his way to a residential area along Quincy Avenue, near Livingstone Drive, and attempted to enter the side gate of a home.

In the body-worn footage, Najara ignored multiple warnings given by officers not to enter the residence and to drop his weapon, later determined to be a screwdriver. When he began opening the gate, one officer shot at him twice, striking him once near his shoulder.

One of the stabbing victims and the suspect were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. The four other victims were treated on the scene for minor injuries by Long Beach Fire Department personnel.

Najara was later arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, robbery, resisting or obstructing a public officer, two counts of assault by means of force likely to produce bodily harm and another two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

While Long Beach police will lead an internal review of the shooting, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office will investigate the shooting for any potential criminal conduct, as the office does for all police shootings in the county.