San Pedro's Royal Palms Beach has new modified hours to curb crime at the site
Royal Palms Beach in San Pedro reopens Tuesday after a multiday closure following a Saturday night shooting at the beach. Officials also announced modified hours to curb criminal behavior at the site.
A shooting occurred during an early Saturday evening beach barbeque where two suspects approached a group of men and an altercation followed that led to the shooting of five people. Four of the wounded men were taken to hospitals by paramedics, three have been released and one of the shooting victims remains in critical condition.
Shortly after Saturday night's shooting, County Supervisor Janice Hahn and City Councilman Tim McOsker announced Royal Palms Beach would be fully closed through the weekend, which extended through Monday.
Both Hahn and McOsker also said there have been other concerning incidents at the beach so the two issued new hours for the beach, with a closing time of 4:30 p.m. on Fridays through Sundays until further notice.
"We need to balance preserving access to this beach with the demands of public safety," Hahn said in a statement Monday. "This shooting was an escalation of a series of problems we have had at Royal Palms. Closing the beach early on weekends is going to help us prevent another tragedy while we work with law enforcement on a long-term strategy."
The two suspects drove away in a silver sedan, police said. One of the suspects has been described as a man in his 20s with a buzz haircut, wearing all black, including a black mask, and is believed to have fired a semiautomatic handgun.
"It's tragically ironic that today (Saturday) we hosted a gun buy-back event just a few miles away from this location. Gun violence is wreaking havoc on our community," said Hahn and McOsker in a joint statement.
The shootings are being investigated by the LAPD's Harbor Area Gang Impact Team.
