Retirement Home Resident Arrested After Killing Fire Captain And Shooting 2 Others
After firefighters responded to a reported explosion in a Southern Californian retirement home, one of the residents opened fire on the firefighters. One civilian and one firefighter were wounded, and a veteran fire captain was shot dead.
The incident occurred after firefighters responded to an alarm at 3:39 a.m. at an 11-story retirement building in Long Beach, California. Some of the building’s windows were blown out, with firefighters bringing the fire under control with help from the building’s sprinklers. After bringing the blaze under control, firefighters searched the building for any residents. At 4:08 a.m. Long Beach Fire Chief Michael DuRee said that two firefighters were shot.
Among those shot was Captain Dave Rosa, a firefighter at the department for 17 years. Captain Rosa died at a hospital on Monday morning, and left his wife and two children behind. The other firefighter, Ernesto Torres, is in hospital in a stable condition, and an elderly resident was shot and is in a critical but stable condition at hospital.
Police Chief Robert Luna has said police have detained a person of interest, who they believe is a resident at the retirement home – 77-year-old Thomas Kim. Luna also added that a revolver was recovered at the scene. Kim has been arrested on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, and arson.
An investigation is currently underway, with police looking to see if the shooter set the fire to lure first responders and ambush them.
