A retirement home resident on Monday shot at firefighters who responded to a report of an explosion at the Southern California facility, killing a veteran fire captain and leaving a second firefighter and another resident wounded, officials said.
Investigators believe based on a preliminary investigation that the man, Thomas Kim, had set a fire early on Monday morning to draw first responders to his second-floor apartment at the retirement home in Long Beach, south of Los Angeles, and then opened fire, Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna said.
Kim, 77, was arrested on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and arson.
Photo: AP
Investigators were still working to determine Kim’s motive, Luna said.
The shooting happened shortly after firefighters arrived at the 11-story retirement facility at about 4am and found some windows blown out, activated sprinklers, the smell of gas and a fire that they extinguished, authorities said.
Firefighters were searching the building when shots rang out and the two firefighters were hit, Long Beach Fire Chief Michael DuRee said.
Fire Captain Dave Rosa, who had worked for the department for 17 years, died at a hospital on Monday morning, DuRee said.
He is survived by a wife and two children — aged 16 and 25 — the chief said.
The other firefighter, Ernesto Torres, was released from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery, officials said.
An elderly resident at the retirement home was also shot and was in critical, but stable condition in hospital, Luna said.
The specific circumstances of how the resident was shot were not immediately known.
“Long Beach lost a hero today,” Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said.
Eighty senior citizens remained evacuated from the retirement home on Monday afternoon, and were being offered health services and counseling at a local community center, the mayor said.
Dozens of firefighters stood at attention and saluted as a flag-draped coffin carrying Rosa’s body was brought out of the hospital on Monday afternoon and loaded into a coroner’s van.
Community members waved US flags along the street outside the hospital as the procession of police and fire vehicles escorted the van to the coroner’s office.
Luna said a revolver was recovered after Kim was taken into custody. He had a prior arrest for car theft, the police chief said.
“There’s still is a large puzzle we’re trying to put together. There’s still a lot of information we don’t know,” he said.
Investigators also found two “suspicious devices” when they arrested Kim and had called the bomb squad to “render those safe,” Luna said.
Detectives still have “a lot of questions about the devices that were found and the suspect’s intent,” Luna said. “That’s the environment we work in today, as law enforcement and firefighters. You go to these scenes and you never know what’s on the other side of those doors.”
Pamela Barr, who lives in the building, said she was awakened by fire alarms and did not panic because false alarms are not uncommon.
She tried to go back to sleep, but then learned what was happening by watching TV news.
Firefighters later evacuated the building and put residents on buses.
“This is a lot to deal with,” said Barr, 73, as she sat with her son in a car, waiting to be allowed back in the tower, where she lives on the ninth floor on the opposite end of the building from where the fire occurred.
Barr said she had not heard of any troubles involving residents of the facility, where she has lived for seven years. She described it as clean, well run and secure.
Gloria Ford, 58, who lives a few blocks away, was awakened by screaming sirens earlier and came to check out the scene.
“I’m very sorry about it. I’m sick about it,” she said about the death of the firefighter. “It’s just mad.”
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