REDONDO BEACH, Calif. — At first glance, there wasn’t too much different about the Redondo Pier on Thursday morning — folks out for a morning stroll passed by people with rods and reels and camping chairs, setting up for a day of fishing.
But the usual bustle of the pier wasn’t there. The coffee and bait counter, the hot dog stand, the souvenir shops were all closed. And down by the pier’s parking structure, where police tape still stood, the salty sea spray was overpowered by the scent of bleach used to scrub away dried blood.
Less than 24 hours earlier, a gunman — who has yet to be identified — shot and wounded two people before being shot and killed by police. The victims, described by police as a juvenile boy and an adult man, are in stable condition, according to authorities.
According to police, multiple 911 calls reported a lone gunman shooting at citizens near the Horseshoe Pier area of the city’s waterfront. When officers arrived at the scene, they opened fire on the suspected gunman. The gunman fled from police, down an outcropping of rocks separating the city’s Horseshoe Beach from the sidewalk. The area was evacuated as police set up a perimeter to contain the suspect before finding the suspect dead.
According to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which is aiding in the investigation, the attack is believed to have been random, and the gunman was believed to have been firing indiscriminately.
On Thursday, one man who said he witnessed the shooting but declined to be identified returned to the pier area just hours after leaving it. He said he was rounding the corner toward the Horseshoe Pier area when he heard two gunshots before taking cover, then, a short time later, heard five more gunshots — those, he believed, were from the police.
The wounded, the man said, were sped out of the area on a City of Redondo Beach Public Works cart. Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand later confirmed that a city employee named Tyler Williams was among those who had helped victims at the scene.
“It sounds like a very heroic move on his part,” Brand said when reached for comment. “He sounds like he really cares, and is paying attention, and is not afraid to help.”
Williams has been recognized by the city in the past, earning a commendation from the city’s public safety commission in 2018 for putting out a small fire in the pier area.
Redondo Beach Public Works Director Ted Semaan declined to comment on the specifics of how city employees may have helped at the scene, citing the ongoing investigation into the shooting, but confirmed that Williams “is a great member of the Public Works Department.”
The pier was closed for much of the morning on Thursday; businesses were given the all-clear to open around 11 a.m.; by 2 p.m., most were still closed. The city, Brand said, had canceled an outdoor concert planned for Thursday and would expand police presence throughout the pier area to help visitors feel safe.
“It’s definitely out of character for what the Redondo Beach waterfront is all about,” Brand said. “We normally don’t see crimes of this nature — it’s rather shocking. But we’re looking forward to getting back to normal, with increased police presence. The Redondo Pier is as safe as anywhere.”
Thursday’s visitors to the pier seemed to agree.
Luis Baluyot has been casting lines off of the Redondo Pier for at least 30 years — back when it was still wooden, before being rebuilt — and though he was still surprised by the shooting, he wasn’t scared for his own safety as he was setting up to fish.
"It's broad daylight, and I'm not doing anything here, I'm just fishing," he said, laughing before waxing philosophic. "If it's your time, it's your time."
One person appeared to kneel and pray at the site of the gunman's death. But most people, it seemed, were content to be curious about the scene, taking pictures of the caution tape and of the clean-up crews that had arrived to clear the blood from the rocks near the pier.