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3-Week-Old Found In Dumpster After Mother, Father And Uncle Shot
The search for a Long Beach newborn who went missing after her mother, father and uncle were injured in a shooting has reached a sad conclusion: the 3-week-old baby girl was found dead in a San Diego County dumpster Sunday afternoon.San Diego County Sheriff's Department found the baby in a strip mall dumpster in Imperial Beach and notified Long Beach police, according to a release from police. They alerted authorities in Long Beach around 4:30 p.m., and the San Diego Coroner's Office later confirmed it was Eliza Delacruz, the missing girl.
"The family is devastated," Lt. Lloyd Cox of the Long Beach department told NBC Los Angeles. The baby was found inside a trash bag in the dumpster.
So far no suspect has been identified, and there isn't a motive for the shooting. Police don't believe that the case is gang-related, and they didn't find any evidence of drug activity in the home, NBC Los Angeles reported. Neighbors said they were good neighbors and had no clue why someone would go after them. Police did, however, say in a statement that they believe the family was targeted: "Although little is known about the suspect, detectives do not believe the shooting was a random act of violence."
Authorities say a man kidnapped Delacruz after shooting her mother, father and uncle around 6 p.m. Saturday evening at their home in the 100 block of West 51st Street in North Long Beach. The three adults survived, and they have not been identified. The father has been treated and released from the hospital but the girl's mother and uncle were in critical condition as of Sunday evening.
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The San Diego Sheriff’s Department is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case, according to the Los Angeles Times. And if you know something, Long Beach Homicide Detectives Donald Goodman and Mark Mattia want you to call them at (562) 570-7244.
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