Thirty people were injured, seven critically, when a Nissan Versa plowed into a crowd outside an East Hollywood nightclub early Saturday, after which the 29-year-old driver was pulled from the car and shot by someone in the crowd.
The crash was reported just before 2 a.m. Saturday in the 4600 block of West Santa Monica Boulevard, near Vermont Avenue, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Lyndsey Lantz. The crowd was standing outside a music venue named The Vermont Hollywood, where a show was taking place, according to media reports.
A total of seven people were listed in critical condition, six were seriously injured and 10 were described as being in fair condition, Lantz said. Seven more were assessed at the scene and refused hospitalization.
Video from the scene showed firefighters putting red, yellow and green tarps in the street to triage patients, and a heavily dented car with a shattered windshield and broken headlights on the sidewalk in front of the venue. Multiple ambulances lined the street.
Officers were dispatched to the scene in response to an “assault with deadly weapon” call, the Los Angeles Police Department reported, adding that “a vehicle drove into a crowd for reasons still under investigation.” Police said they were investigating the crash as an “intentional act.”
Responding officers found the motorist suffering from a gunshot wound outside the car and being assaulted by bystanders. He was rushed to a hospital in unknown condition.
He was later identified as Fernando Ramirez, LAPD Officer Rosario Cervantes told City News Service. His city of residence was not provided.
Ramirez faces potential charges of assault with a deadly weapon, Cervantes told CNS.
The shooter fled the scene on foot, last seen westbound from Vermont Avenue. Police described him as a 5-foot-9, roughly 180-pound bald Latino man wearing a blue jersey and possibly armed with a silver revolver.
Police said that prior to the crash, Ramirez had been removed from the music venue, according to multiple reports. NBC4 reported he was ejected for fighting, then returned and fought again before being thrown out by security for being intoxicated and disruptive. That is when he is reported to have hopped into the car and drove into the crowd.
In a statement issued Saturday morning, Mayor Karen Bass called the crash a “heartbreaking tragedy.” She said, “I want to thank the more than 100 LAFD and LAPD personnel who responded to the scene to help to save lives. The hearts of Angelenos are with all of the victims impacted this morning — a full investigation into what happened is underway.”
Anyone with information regarding the shooting was urged to call the LAPD’s Rampart station at 213-484-3424. Callers who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or go to lacrimestoppers.org.