Ruben Lopez, 25, was fatally shot on the evening of July 1, 2019, in the 1200 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Long Beach. The shooting happened about 8:40 p.m. after Lopez, accompanied by a 19-year-old male and an 18-year-old female, got into a verbal confrontation with a group of male suspects that escalated into gunfire. Lopez was struck in the upper torso, drove himself to a nearby hospital, and was pronounced dead on arrival. A 17-year-old boy was also wounded, sustaining a gunshot to the lower torso and taken to hospital.

Investigators reported Lopez had started a physical altercation with one of the suspects before turning toward Bryant U., who then fired and struck Lopez. Bryant U. was arrested on August 13, 2019, and booked for murder with bail set at $2,000,000, but the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office later determined he acted in self-defense and no charges were filed.

The Long Beach Police Department treated the shooting as gang-related and increased patrols in affected areas. Does anyone have information about the confrontation that led to this shooting or knew Ruben Lopez?