CA Firefighter Killed in Senior Facility Shooting

June 25 -- LOS ANGELES -- A shooting at a downtown Long Beach, Calif., senior living facility left one firefighter dead and a second wounded, authorities said Monday.

Fire Capt. Dave Rosa, 45, was fatally shot while investigating reports of an explosion and smell of gasoline inside the Covenant Manor senior care facility about 4 a.m., said Long Beach Fire Chief Mike Duree.

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Rosa and another firefighter were shot while inside the 11-story high-rise helping to trace what had triggered the building’s sprinkler system and forced residents to shelter in place, Heflin said.

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The firefighters were near the unit where the blast occurred when shots rang out and Rosa and the second firefighter were hit, officials said. Both were taken to trauma centers. The second firefighter is 35 years old and in stable condition, Duree said.

A suspect in the shooting, possibly a resident of the building, has been taken into custody, said Long Beach police Sgt. Brad Johnson. A third person, a civilian, was also shot and is expected to survive, police said.

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The suspect’s identity has not been released and a motive was not immediately known. Residents will be allowed back in the building once it’s deemed safe, Johnson said. Several windows in the building were blown out.

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s bomb squad unit was headed to the scene at East 4th Street and Atlantic Avenue to investigate two devices in the area that were deemed suspicious, Long Beach police chief Robert Luna said.

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