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Suspected Gunman Killed In Officer-Involved Shooting In Hollywood

HOLLYWOOD (CBS) — A suspected gunman is dead after an officer-involved shooting in Hollywood.

Los Angeles police said they received a call about a man firing shots at random vehicles near Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street around 10:30 a.m. Friday. A witness told CBS2's Randy Paige that the suspect shot as many as three cars.

Witness Oscar Herrera told CBS2 that the gunman was walking north in the middle of Vine Street with his gun pointed in the air, and he fired at passing cars.

At some point, Herrera said, the suspect ran out of bullets and brandished a knife.

"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."

Herrera said the man was screaming, "Kill me ... I'm gonna die!"

The man also reportedly yelled, "Is this the end of the world?" and "Is this the end of my life" at the top of his lungs.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said two people were injured in the shooting. One person was transported to a local hospital and is in critical condition. Police wouldn't say what hospital the man was taken to but it is believed the victim, a man in his 40s, was taken to Cedars-Sinai.

Police are conducting an investigation. But called it a case of "Suicide by Police," where a despondent individual wants to die but wants cops to take them down by lethal force. Witnesses said police repeatedly asked the gunman to drop his weapon but he didn't comply.

Officials have not announced a motive for the attack or named the suspect. Friday evening, all authorities would say is the shooter was a 26-year-old white male.

Micah Williams, another eyewitness, told KCAL9's Amy Johnson "I heard the third bullet ricochet right by our heads, and said, 'Dude they're shooting at us!' I turned around to see a guy pointing a gun at me and my friends, and I said, 'Oh crap', and we ran and hid behind the tower."

Williams saw the gunman shoot a man in a Mercedes. "I ran up to the car, to see if the guy was alright. And he was shot in the neck and he couldn't talk. At this point, I just started screaming for an ambulance."

Dave Pepper was across the street, ordering a #1 at the McDonald's drive-thru. The gunman came up to his car but didn't fire. "Why he didn't pull the trigger," says Pepper, "I don't know. I don't know. He put the gun right up to my window."

(UPDATE: 10 p.m. Friday) Three men were shot. One man, shot in the neck, is in critical condition. Another man was grazed on the left thigh. He was treated at a hospital and released. Another man sustained cuts on his face when his car window shattered. He was also treated and released.

Sunset and Vine was closed until midnight.

 

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