Long Beach police were investigating a string of three back-to-back shootings in Central Long Beach that all happened within the span of about an hour and a half Monday afternoon.

A Long Beach police officer looks around a shooting scene after a man was shot at Martin Luther King Jr Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach Monday, March 12, 2018. (Photo by Thomas R. Cordova / Daily Breeze)

Long Beach paramedics work on a shooting victim on 1300 block of Wesley Drive, LBPD working 3 shootings with in the last 2 hours in Long Beach Monday, March 12, 2018. (Photo by Thomas R. Cordova / Daily Breeze)

Long Beach paramedics work on a shooting victim on 1300 block of Wesley Drive, LBPD working 3 shootings with in the last 2 hours in Long Beach Monday, March 12, 2018. (Photo by Thomas R. Cordova / Daily Breeze)

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Long Beach police investigate a shooting on 1300 block of Wesley Drive, LBPD working 3 shootings within 2 hours in Long Beach Monday, March 12, 2018. (Photo by Thomas R. Cordova / Daily Breeze)

A Long Beach police detain 2 men after shooting on 1700 block of Pine Avenue, no injuries reported in Long Beach Monday, March 12, 2018. (Photo by Thomas R. Cordova / Daily Breeze)



With markers in the forground Long Beach police detain 2 men after shooting on 1700 block of Pine Avenue, no injuries reported in Long Beach Monday, March 12, 2018. (Photo by Thomas R. Cordova / Daily Breeze)

Long Beach police officer searches a man after detaining 2 men after shooting on 1700 block of Pine Avenue, no injuries reported in Long Beach Monday, March 12, 2018. (Photo by Thomas R. Cordova / Daily Breeze)

A Long Beach police officer escorts one of two men to a waiting police vehicle as the police detain 2 men after shooting on 1700 block of Pine Avenue, no injuries reported in Long Beach Monday, March 12, 2018. (Photo by Thomas R. Cordova / Daily Breeze)

A Long Beach police officer escorts one of two men to a waiting police vehicle as the police detain 2 men after shooting on 1700 block of Pine Avenue, no injuries reported in Long Beach Monday, March 12, 2018. (Photo by Thomas R. Cordova / Daily Breeze)

A Long Beach police officer escorts one of two men to a waiting police vehicle as the police detain 2 men after shooting on 1700 block of Pine Avenue, no injuries reported in Long Beach Monday, March 12, 2018. (Photo by Thomas R. Cordova / Daily Breeze)



A Long Beach police officer escorts one of two men to a waiting police vehicle as the police detain 2 men after shooting on 1700 block of Pine Avenue, no injuries reported in Long Beach Monday, March 12, 2018. (Photo by Thomas R. Cordova / Daily Breeze)

Long Beach police investigate a shooting on 1300 block of Wesley Drive, LBPD working 3 shootings within 2 hours in Long Beach Monday, March 12, 2018. (Photo by Thomas R. Cordova / Daily Breeze)

Two people were wounded in the gunfire, which all rang out along a 2-mile stretch on or near Pacific Coast Highway. It’s unclear at this point if the shootings were isolated events or related to each other in some way, Long Beach Police Department spokesman Sgt. Brad Johnson said.

The first shots were fired around 2:50 p.m. near the intersection of Pine Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway where a group of people opened fire on someone but missed, according to authorities.

Police quickly cordoned off the neighborhood and arrested two people that the victim said were part of the group, Johnson said. Investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the shooting.

Just after 4 p.m., police got reports of more gunshots near the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, which is less than a mile away from the first shooting, according to authorities.

In that case, a man was wounded in the upper body and taken to a local hospital, according to Johnson.

Police said the shooting may be gang-related, but no further details were immediately available.

Soon after, more shots were fired less than a mile to the northeast. Police said a man was shot around 4:30 p.m. in the 1300 block of Wesley Drive, which is just north of Long Beach City College’s Pacific Coast Campus on PCH.

Paramedics took the man to a hospital to treat a wound to the upper body, police said. Johnson said investigators think this shooting may also be gang-related.