A man with a combination pocket knife was shot and killed by police Friday night near the Hollywood Walk of Fame, police said
Police responded to reports of a man with a deadly weapon at Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue just before 7 p.m., police said. Officers fired after seeing the man approach them while armed with a knife, said Meghan Aguilar of the LAPD. The man died in the hospital before 9:30 p.m.
Police did not provide information about the suspect’s name, age, or ethnicity.
A combination knife, similar to a Swiss Army Knife, was found at the scene. Witnesses described hearing what sounded like “firecrackers” before realizing the sound was gunfire and watching crowds ducking and running away.
“It was very surreal,” Henry Hodge said. “The cars stopped, the people stopped, and immediately people started panicking.” One woman said a man ran into a McDonald’s shouting that police shot his friend, who sometimes “liked to wave a knife to scare tourists.”
Lisa Bregman happened to be driving through the intersection at the moment the shooting occurred. Bregman said she heard a series of gunshots, then looked up and saw a man lying on the ground.
According to Bregman, the man appeared to be breathing after the shooting. Bregman did not see what led up to the shooting, but said she heard people at the scene shouting afterward about a knife.
Bregman took a photo of the scene while police still had their guns drawn.
-Tamara El(@_SheWise_)
