Two people were killed and three others injured late Thursday night, July 4, in a Huntington Beach neighborhood where people had gathered to watch fireworks.
About a half hour after the 11:15 p.m. attack, police arrested Logan Christopher Kelley, 26, of Huntington Beach on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
Police are not yet saying how the victims were injured, Jennifer Carey, a city spokeswoman, said on Friday. Fox11 said police told them that the victims had been stabbed.
None of the victims’ identities had been publicly announced yet.
Carey said she didn’t know whether the suspect was injured.
Detectives were still in the area of 16th Street and Pecan Avenue on Friday morning to sort out what happened and why.
The neighborhood features rows of two-story apartment buildings or condominiums approximately five blocks from the beach. Thousands of people had descended on the city to celebrate Independence Day with a parade, a run and surf amid scorching heat.
The city’s annual fireworks display launched at 9 p.m. and lasted about 20 minutes.
“That area (of the attack) right there is a prime viewing location for watching that show,” Carey said.
There is a 10 p.m. curfew for shooting off fireworks in the city, but Carey said some people ignore that deadline, so it’s possible fireworks were being lit at the time of the attack.
One injured person could be seen in a video by OC HAWK, a news organization that works with the Southern California News Group, in a fetal position in front of a residence. Behind that person, police went in and out of the building.
There were beach chairs set up out front, as if to watch fireworks.
