Part of the 710 Freeway was closed at the Long Beach International Gateway bridge Monday morning after a pursuit that stemmed from a carjacking and break-in at a Wilmington pharmacy.
The carjacking with a passenger still inside the car was reported at about 3:30 a.m. in the 1200 block of West Eighth Street in San Pedro. The passenger was released shortly after the carjacking.
The car was then used in a break-in reported at about 4:20 a.m. in the 200 block of Anaheim Street in Wilmington. Several people who attempted to break into the pharmacy led police on a chase that ended on the Long Beach International Gateway bridge connecting downtown Long Beach and Terminal Island.
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Occupants ran from the vehicle in the area of Pier T in Long Beach. Six people were taken into custody, but authorities were searching for a seventh individual.
"LAPD SWAT responded and is searching for a suspect who was seen on a catwalk under the… bridge,'' the LAPD statement said. "No suspects are believed to have jumped into the water or from the bridge."
Search teams on boats were in the water under the bridge.
The 710 Freeway was closed at the bridge at about 6:30 a.m. Monday for the investigation and search. Details about when it will reopen were not immediately available.
Video from the scene of the pharmacy burglar showed a shattered front window at the business. Details about what, if anything, was taken were not immediately available.
The bridge, a replace for the historic Gerald Desmond Bridge, opened to traffic in October 2020. It was officially named the Long Beach International Gateway Bridge by the California Legislature in August 2022.
About 15 percent of the nation's imported waterborne cargo is trucked over the cable-stayed bridge with a deck that rises 205 feet above the water.
Late last week, the Vincent Thomas Bridge in nearby San Pedro was closed due to an big rig rollover crash and lithium ion battery fire.
