Long Beach SWAT Officers Shot At While Serving Warrant in Cerritos

LONG BEACH, CA -- Long Beach police SWAT officers were involved in a shootout with a suspect in a drug investigation in Cerritos Friday, and the man was found dead inside the residence several hours later, authorities said.

The incident began about 4:45 a.m. as the SWAT officers prepared to serve a narcotics warrant at the residence near Carmenita Road and 183rd Street, Long Beach police Sgt. Brad Johnson said.

The suspect fired shots at the SWAT officers and they returned fire, Johnson said. No officers were injured.

The officers surrounded the residence, some evacuations were ordered in the area, and streets near the scene were closed. Nearby Cerritos Elementary School remained open, but access was restricted to the east side of the campus via Marquardt Avenue, according to a sheriff's lieutenant said.

Police entered the residence several hours after the standoff began, and they found the man dead inside with a gunshot wound to his upper body, Johnson said.

It was unclear if the gunshot wound was self-inflicted or the result of the gunfire exchanged between officers and the suspect, Johnson said.

The fatally wounded man's name was withheld, pending notification of kin.

-- City News Service, photo via Shutterstock