VIDEO: Machete Wielding Suspect Chasing Cop is Killed in Hollywood

HOLLYWOOD — There was an officer involved shooting in Hollywood around 11:30am this morning in Hollywood. Nearly the entire later portion of the incident appears to have been captured on witness videos. The suspect was pronounced dead at a hospital and one LAPD officer sustained minor injuries and was treated at the scene.

A crime scene was established around Las Palmas and Sunset, just east of Highland. Surrounding streets were closed for an investigation going well into the night. Commanding Officer Steve Laurie of LAPD Hollywood Area told us at 7:26pm that it would be closed quite a while longer.

An LAPD spokesperson confirmed at an afternoon news conference that the incident began at the AutoZone at Fountain and Highland. The initial radio dispatch said that a car battery and jumper cables were robbed from the store at knifepoint. The suspect then moved north to Chick-fil-a where he was said to have carjacked a driver.

That’s where one video picks up the story before a different video captures the end of the incident leading up to the officer involved shooting.

The first video shows the suspect holding a machete, standing near a car in the drive-thru of a Chick-fil-A. When officers approached,  he is seen carjacking someone in the drive through and attempting to drive away from police. A few seconds later, just at the exit, the car crashes into LAPD vehicles and attempts to go around them. The man can then be seen exiting the car and proceeding to run away from officers.

“You see the guy pretty much running with a machete, and as he’s running with the machete he’s pretty much got the cops chasing down,” Clinton Gunnels, who witnessed the incident, told KTLA. “They kind of gave him a second to surrender, but he highjacked a car and then the driver hops out of the car and that’s when he hopped over to the driver’s seat and that’s when he drove off.”

That’s where a second video picks up, showing the incident after numerous additional officers and a helicopter had already arrived on the scene, the suspect is seen charging at an officer on a sidewalk when gunfire can be heard as someone near the camera filming yells “don’t do it!” Six shots can be heard, mostly on the sidewalk.

It is not yet confirmed if those are the gunshots that hit the suspect, or if they were fired by the officer in the video or by other officers on the scene. It would not be unusual for at least one officer to have a “less-lethal” weapon unholstered. An LAPD spokesperson confirmed that such weapons were employed during the incident but it is unclear if those are the shots heard on the video.

The video shows the suspect continue to chase the officer into the street and two more shots ring out as the suspect raises the sword as the officer falls to the ground and the video ends. It appears the second video is on the north side of Sunset, across the street from Chick-fil-a.

It is quite likely there was a second round of gunfire from police after the video ends with the suspect wielding the machete over the fallen officer on the ground in the middle of the street.

Video from news helicopters over the scene showed a large pool of blood. Reports say that both the suspect and officer were injured, and that the officer’s injuries are not considered serious. ABC7 said a machete was seen in the middle of the street near a pool of blood.

A Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson told ABC7 that the wounded suspect was transported to a medical center in unknown condition and that a police officer who suffered injuries that were not life-threatening was being treated at the scene. KTLA quoted police as saying the officer was not shot.

Official statement from LAPD Hollywood:

Earlier today, at approx 11:30am, a Suspect commited a robbery at knife-point at an auto-part store near Sunset Blvd / Highland Ave. The Suspect then carjacked a vehicle in a nearby drive-thru. When confronted by police the Suspect fled, crashing into two LAPD vehicles. After crashing, the Suspect, who was armed with a 1-1.5 ft knife, fled from Officers. Officers gave chase & used less lethal options. Ultimately an Officer Involved Shooting occurred and the Suspect was struck by gunfire. The Suspect was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced deceased. An LAPD Officer sustained minor injuries to his elbow and knee and was treated at scene. The area of Sunset Blvd between Las Palmas & Cherokee will remain closed as the investigation continues.

Officer and Person Injured in Armed Robbery Investigation @CitizenApp

Fountain Avenue & Highland Ave 11:24:41 AM PST