Police kill man whose stabbing rampage injured 3 on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood
A stabbing and police shooting were reported in Hollywood on Tuesday afternoon. By Luis Sinco and Brain van der Brug / Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles police fatally shot a man in a Hollywood fast-food restaurant Tuesday, just moments after the man stabbed three others in an apparently unprovoked attack.
The assailant — described only as a man in his 30s — stabbed a bicyclist about 2 p.m. along the north side of Sunset Boulevard near Ivar Avenue, said Sgt. Frank Preciado, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.
The attack occurred on a popular corridor along Sunset Boulevard, near the ArcLight Cinemas, Amoeba Music and the Los Angeles offices of CNN.
The assailant then ran down Sunset Boulevard and tried to get into a coffee shop, where employees held the door shut against him, Preciado said.
Next, the man continued eastbound and walked into a Jack in the Box, where he stabbed another man, Preciado said.
As the second victim fled the fast-food restaurant, police officers rushed inside. The man then knifed a third person.
Officers confronted the man and shot him an unknown number of times. Preciado said police also attempted to use a Taser.
The man died at the scene. Authorities did not release his name, and investigators were still trying to determine a motive for the attacks, Preciado said.
Video posted on social media from inside the restaurant showed a person calling for a belt or shoelace to be used as a tourniquet for a victim sitting in a chair with a pool of blood on the floor.
Moans could be heard. As an officer reports “shots fired,” another officer can be seen kneeling over a person face-down on the ground and holding the person’s arm.
L.A. City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, whose district includes Hollywood and East Hollywood, commended LAPD officers for their swift response.
“It saved lives,” O’Farrell said at a news conference Tuesday night.
Investigators were unsure if the assailant knew the three victims, or if they were otherwise connected in some way, police said.
For the inquiry into the shooting, authorities were planning to review surveillance video. Preciado said there was no footage from body-worn cameras to review.
All three victims were taken to hospitals with stab wounds. Two were initially listed in critical condition and were undergoing surgery late Tuesday, according to Josh Rubenstein, a spokesman for the LAPD. Both were considered medically stable.
The third man was expected to be released from the hospital Wednesday.
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Times staff writer Matt Hamilton contributed to this report.
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UPDATES:
8:40 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details about the circumstances of the shooting and the conditions of the three stabbing victims.
5 p.m.: This article was updated with new details about shooting and suspect found dead at the scene.
3:05 p.m.: This article was updated with details about the police shooting.
This article was originally published at 2:25 p.m.
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