A beloved firefighter was fatally injured at the CA retirement home

LONG BEACH, California – A beloved and decorated fire captain was shot dead Monday morning and two others – including a second firefighter – were injured when a resident of a retirement home in southern California fired on firefighters. which responded to an explosion in the building.

The shootout occurred after firefighters responded to an alarm shortly before 4:00 am at the 11-story retirement home in Long Beach, south of Los Angeles. They found windows turned off, sprinklers turned on, a fire extinguished, the authorities said.

Firefighters were searching the building when shots were fired and the two firefighters were hit, said Long Beach Fire Chief Michael DuRee.

Fire Chief Dave Rosa, who had been working for the department for 17 years, died Monday morning at the hospital, DuRee said. He is survived by a woman and two children, said the chief.

The other firefighter who was shot was not identified immediately and was hospitalized in a stable condition. A third person was also shot and was in critical condition and undergoing surgery, said Chief of Police Robert Luna. No other details have been provided about this person.

Dozens of firefighters stood at attention and waved as the draped coffin carrying Rosa's body was taken out of a hospital Monday afternoon and loaded into a coroner's van. Community members waved American 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 that a "person of interest" – who, according to the police, resides in the institution – was detained at the scene and was interrogated by the investigators. A weapon was recovered at the scene, he said.

"There is a big puzzle to put in place," Luna said.

The investigators were investigating whether the shooter had deliberately lured the first responders to the scene to ambush them, Luna said.

"It's the environment in which we work today, such as law enforcement and firefighters, and you never know what's in it." On the other hand, these brave firemen have gone through these gates and have unfortunately been hit by gunshots. Luna said.

Pamela Barr, who lives in the building, said that she had been awakened by fire alarms and that she had not panicked because false alarms were not uncommon. She tried to go back to sleep, but then learned what was happening by watching TV news. The firefighters later evacuated the building and put the locals on the buses.

"It's a lot to deal with," said Barr, 73, while she was sitting with her son in a car, waiting to be allowed back in the tower, where she lives. on the ninth floor at the opposite end of the building from where the fire occurred.

Barr said that she had not heard of any problems involving residents of the institution, where she lived for seven years. She described it as clean, well managed and secure.

Gloria Ford, 58, who lives a few blocks away, was woken up by screaming sirens earlier and came to check the scene.

"I'm really sorry, I'm fed up," she said of the firefighter's death. "It's just crazy."

The police also called the bomb squad investigators after discovering "some devices they thought were suspicious".

The residential tower near downtown Long Beach has 100 apartments for low-income people aged 62 and over, as well as adults with disabilities over the age of 18, according to its website.

Long Beach is a large port city of more than 400,000 inhabitants.

___

Balsamo reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer John Antczak in Los Angeles contributed to this report.