A man shot by Long Beach police sued the city last week, alleging he was just getting a pizza when officers opened fire on him and another man whom police said were part of a group tied to a gang killing and other violent crimes.

The Sept. 11 confrontation left Long Beach resident Devon Thomas hospitalized with severe abdominal injuries after he was shot multiple times, according to Thomas’ attorney, Brian T. Dunn.

Police said at the time that they opened fire while trying to arrest half a dozen men believed to be connected to a pair of robberies and a deadly gang shooting committed back-to-back-to-back earlier that day.

But Dunn said Thomas had nothing to do with the crimes or the people allegedly responsible for them.

“At a minimum, it was a sure case of mistaken identity,” he said. Thomas alleged in court documents that police misjudged the situation and had no justifiable reason to try to detain him.

His lawsuit, filed March 27 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, seeks unspecified damages.

The Long Beach city attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a message asking about the lawsuit Tuesday.

Wounded after leaving Little Caesars

According to Dunn, Thomas was wounded around 3:20 p.m. on Sept. 11 shortly after he walked out of a Little Caesars in a strip mall at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Lemon Avenue. Thomas had just gotten into the back seat of a car in the pizza shop’s parking lot when police confronted him, the lawsuit states.

Dunn said Thomas ran while police opened fire without warning. The decision to use deadly force was “excessive, unnecessary, and unlawful,” according to the lawsuit.

Thomas was not armed at any point before or during the confrontation and never made any aggressive moves toward the officers, the lawsuit states.

“He had a pizza box in his hand as he left the pizza place,” Dunn said.

At the time, police didn’t describe exactly what Thomas allegedly did that prompted officers to open fire, saying only that they shot after trying to detain a man.

They believed Thomas and five other people detained in or near the parking lot that day were connected to a recent string of violent crimes, according to a statement from the department issued Sept. 14.

It said detectives were at the lot watching a car they believed was tied to two robberies and a deadly gang shooting that all happened in the span of about 25 minutes earlier that day starting around 3:20 a.m.

As detectives waited for backup, another car pulled up and parked in the lot, according to police. Detectives recognized the second car as one that had been stolen earlier that day using keys taken from one of the robbery victims, the statement said.

Detectives believed the suspects in the two cars were armed and dangerous, police said.

‘Chaotic’ scene unfolded

When police approached, a chaotic scene unfolded, according to authorities’ description.

The statement said some of the suspects ran while one of the cars sped off before quickly crashing into a parked car at which point the driver got out and ran as well.

According to police’s description, officers fired at two of the suspects trying to escape, but only one of them was struck. That man — whom Dunn identified as Thomas — was hospitalized in critical condition, police said.

As officers were chasing down the suspects outside, detectives also confronted three more suspects in a nearby business where they surrendered, according to authorities.

None of the suspects outside were armed when police arrested them, according to authorities, but the suspects inside the business did have a gun.

At the time, police withheld the names of all the suspects involved.

On Tuesday, police confirmed Thomas has not been charged with a crime.

However, three people connected to the incident were charged.

Travion Lewis, an 18-year-old from Long Beach, pleaded no contest in October to being an ex- felon in possession of a gun. He was sentenced to three years of probation, according to court records.

Elijahkareem Hall, a 25-year-old Long Beach resident, is facing counts of murder, attempted murder and robbery with a gang enhancement. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held in lieu of $3.2 million bail, according to court records.

A 17-year-old Long Beach boy, whom police declined to identify, faces the same charges as Hall. Details of his case were unavailable because information about juvenile defendants isn’t made public.

Authorities identified the man killed during the crime spree as Juan Ricardo Garcia, a 25-year-old Long Beach man.