LOS ANGELES Police kill gunman shooting at cars in Hollywood
LOS ANGELES Police kill gunman shooting at cars in Hollywood, Dec 9, 2011
LOS ANGELES — On Friday a gunman was shot and killed by police after he opened fire on random vehicles passing through a busy traffic intersection in Hollywood, one person was critically injured, a spokesman and reports said.
The shooting occurred on Sunset and Vine, just a few blocks away from Hollywood’s Walk of Fame and the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
“The suspect was randomly shooting at vehicles and people. Police responded and the suspect was shot and killed,” (LAPD) spokesman Gregory Baek stated.
One victim was injured and taken to hospital, he added, giving no further details. The Los Angeles Times reported that the shooting victim was hit in the head and critically injured.
One witness told how the gunman was walking down the middle of the road with his gun pointed in the air, and firing at random passing cars.
“I saw a Mercedes making a turn from Sunset to Vine going southbound,” stated witness Oscar Herrera, “And he looked at him, and he started shooting at him, hit the car.
“Then, another car went by here, and he shot at him too. And another car goes northbound on Vine, and he shot at that one, too.”
He continued: “So, then he turned around, and was going back, shooting… But I guess he ran out of bullets, so he took out his knife and he put the gun in his waist and he walked down there.
“And that’s when a policeman came this way, near the bank, and he saw him with the knife and the gun (and) he started shooting at him like maybe four or five times.
The man was screaming, “Kill me … I’m gonna die!” before the police officer shot him dead, he stated.
The shooting snarled traffic in the area for much of the rest of the day after police sealed off several blocks around the area, leaving the gunman’s body, covered in a white sheet, where he fell as officers questioned witnesses.
The motive for the shooting was unclear. “We don’t know why” the gunman opened fire, a LAPD spokesman said.
