Video shows LBPD officer shoot woman who allegedly held guard hostage, pointed fake gun
Tracy Zinberg allegedly used a pellet gun to hold a security guard hostage before an officer shot her for pointing the gun at police, according to LBPD.
A newly released video by the Long Beach Police Department shows the moment an officer shoots a woman who allegedly held a security guard hostage before pointing a gun at officers from behind her apartment door.
The incident happened the night of June 16 at an apartment complex in the 1000 block of Long Beach Boulevard, according to authorities.
Police say 40-year-old Tracy Zinberg was pointing a gun at people in the area sometime around 9 p.m.
“She’s got a gun,” a woman can be heard telling police over the phone, on the video. “I can’t tell if it is a real one or a fake one.”
After officers responded to the scene, the video shows them encountering Zinberg next to the security guard in the hallway.
The officers approach Zinberg with their guns drawn as the 40-year-old runs back into her apartment, according to the video.
The security guard, with his hands up and his back against the wall, shuffles over toward the officers, who walk him backwards toward cover, the video shows.
“I was doing my patrol and I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” the guard can be heard telling the officers in the video. “She had the gun pointed to my head.”
“She said she was going to kill me,” he added, according to the video.
About a minute later, according to police, Zinberg cracked open her door and the officers identified themselves.
The video shows Zinberg pointing a black object that police say was a gun toward the officers. That's when one of the officers fired four rounds at Zinberg, striking her in the upper body, according to the video.
After being shot, Zinberg barricaded herself inside the apartment for four hours until SWAT officer deployed gas to get her to surrender, according to police and details from the video.
“My dog is in there,” an injured Zinberg can be heard saying on the video as she’s been arrested. “I want my dog.”
Following the arrest, police said they seized the gun Zinberg used and determined it was a black pellet gun.
Zinberg survived the shooting and was charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon upon a peace officer, and one count each of robbery, resisting arrest, and assault with a firearm, police said.
The Long Beach Police Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office are currently conducting their own investigations into the shooting to determine whether the officer’s actions were within protocol.
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