Man Stabbed to Death in Long Beach Apartment, 'Probable' Suspect Arrested

Originally posted at 7:59 a.m. April 8, 2014. Edited with new details.

A man was stabbed to death early today at an apartment building in Long Beach, and another man was taken into custody as his probable killer, police said.

Officers were sent to the 2000 block of Locust Avenue at 1:20 a.m. on a report of someone screaming, said Long Beach police Sgt. Brad Johnson. The officers entered the building and found a man dead "from an apparent stabbing," Johnson said.

Police detained a man who was leaving the building, and he was being questioned as "the probable suspect," Johnson said.

The dead man was identified as Akheem Johnson, 27, of Long Beach, police said.

"Two small children were in the residence asleep at the time," Johnson said. The children were taken into protective custody, and will be reunited with their mother, who was at work when the killing occurred, Johnson said.

A motive for the stabbing was not known, police said, but the preliminary investigation indicated that an argument ensued and it escalated into a stabbing.

Bryant Keith Underwood, 29, of Lake Elsinore, was booked for murder. He is being held on $1 million bail.

The relationships, if any, between the men and the woman and children were not immediately known.

Anyone with information on the stabbing was asked to call Long Beach police homicide detectives Todd Johnson or Roger Zottneck at (562) 570-7244.

--City News Service