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SAN PEDRO (CNS) - A man was in custody Wednesday in a shooting at Royal Palms Beach in San Pedro that left himself and four other men injured and prompted the implementation of restricted hours at the seaside location.
The shooting occurred around 5:45 p.m. on March 4 at Paseo Del Mar and Graysby Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Jose Ortega, 22, was arrested five days later in Orange County, and was booked on suspicion of attempted murder and other crimes, the LAPD reported. Ortega was being held without bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Authorities held a Wednesday morning news conference at which police said Ortega, who went to the hospital on his own, was one of those wounded in the shooting.
"Ultimately what we learned is that our fifth victim who showed up at the hospital was actually our suspect who perpetrated the shooting," said LAPD Capt. Brent McGuyre, in remarks published by KCAL9. "Through our investigation we determined that during the altercation the suspect was struck by one of the rounds from potentially his own handgun."
On the day of the shooting, several groups of people were gathered at the beach, when two of the groups became involved in a "verbal and physical altercation that ultimately led to a shooting where five individuals were struck by gunfire," the LAPD said. All five survived.
Following the shooting, Los Angeles City Councilman Tim McOsker and L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn announced that the beach would close at 4:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays until further notice.
The beach will continue to close at dusk Mondays through Thursdays, and all closing times also apply to the beach parking lot. Hahn and McOsker said there have been previous concerning altercations at the beach.
"We need to balance preserving access to this beach with the demands of public safety," Hahn said in a statement announcing the earlier closing times. "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 shooting occurred just hours after a police gun buyback event in the San Pedro area.