Belmont Shore Burglar Now Said to Be 3 Intruders

It was three intruders not one found in a Belmont Shore resident's home Tuesday morning, the Long Beach police department said in a Wednesday update:

The suspects are described as wearing black hoodies and at least one was male, said Long Beach police department spokeswoman Nancy Pratt. She released the following updated statement:

• "Suspects are described as 3 subjects, all wearing dark hoodies which concealed their faces; at least one of the subjects was male
• Detectives are following up on the case and the investigation remains ongoing."

Wednesday morning, at the same time as the armed burglary occurred, a patrol car was parked at the corner of Appian Way and Santa Ana Avenue, as students and parents hurried to nearby schools.

Other details of the case, including a gunman firing at the male resident before fleeing, remain the same, police said.

The 9-1-1 call came in Tuesday about the time numerous students are walking or bicycling to Rogers Middle and Lowell Elementary schools a few blocks away.

"At approximately 8:35 we received a 9-1-1 call regarding a cat burglary at a
residence in the 300 block of Santa Ana," said police department spokeswoman Pratt. It was classified as a cat burglary because a person was in a house at the same time as the intruder, Pratt said.

From our earlier story: "Units responded and made contact with the male adult victim," Pratt said in a short e-mail. "A perimeter was established. With the assistance of K-9, the residence was searched and cleared with no suspect(s) found. The area was also searched and no suspect(s) were located.

"The victim stated he was home alone when he discovered an armed male suspect in his residence. Before the suspect fled, he fired at the victim. The victim then called 9-1-1. The victim was not struck and no other injuries were sustained. [The] investigation is ongoing."

By 8:50 a.m., about four squad cars were seen parked on Appian Way near the house, as a police chopper circled overhead. The wide street runs parallel to the Marine Stadium and homes on both sides of the street. It runs parallel to Vista, where you can see many schoolchildren on bicycles, as well as parents walking with young ones and pushing strollers.

Two nearby residents told Patch that they'd been told that the man's wife came home and found the front door open, and she called police rather than entering alone. Officers could be seen measuring distances and marking off areas with yellow police tape.

A woman who had been pruning front yard plants at the time of the incident said Tuesday that she was unnerved, and had also heard third-hand that three men might have been involved.

"People were walking by with their kids and dogs at the time," said the mother, who was not home alone, but did not want her name used, as the suspects  had not  been captured. "I was here gardening and going in and out of the shed at the back (near the alley)."

Anyone who may have information relating to this incident should contact the Long Beach Police Department's Burglary Detail at 570-7351. Anonymous tips may be submitted via text or web at www.tipsoft.com

The Belmont Park area's Neighborhood Watch network sent out an e-mail alert with Patch's story Tuesday at 1:55 p.m.