The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said on Saturday that a man suspected of driving a car into a crowd in Hollywood had been hospitalized and was undergoing surgery.
The car ramming took place in the early hours of Saturday at the entrance of a nightclub. Some 30 people were injured in the incident.
Authorities said the man was shot during the incident, although it was unclear whether he was shot before or after he drove into the crowd.
“He was transported to the hospital, he’s undergoing surgery, he is in stable condition. However, he is not free to leave, he is in the custody of Los Angeles Police Department, and we’re looking at charges such as attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon at this point,” LAPD official Lillian Carranza told US broadcaster CBS.
What do we know about the ramming?
The incident took place outside The Vermont nightclub, just before 2 a.m. local time (0900 GMT/UTC), the LA fire and police departments said. The venue was reportedly hosting a reggae/hip hop event.
People were queing for the nightclub next to a taco cart and a valet queue when the ramming occurred.
A fire department spokesperson said the car appeared to first have targeted a food truck outside the nightclub, then it went through a valet parking stand and finally into a large group of people waiting to enter the venue, mostly women.
“When officers arrived, they found the driver being assaulted by bystanders and determined he had sustained a gunshot wound,” a police statement said.
The LA Police Department said the incident was still being investigated.
A man suspected of shooting the driver fled the scene on foot, police said. He was possibly armed with a silver revolver.
The LA Fire Department said some 23 people were taken to local hospitals, seven were in critical condition, while others were treated at the scene.
Mayor Karen Bass said the incident was “a heartbreaking tragedy” and thanked “more than 100 LAFD and LAPD personnel who responded to the scene to help to save lives.”
Edited by: Rana Taha
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