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Big Wangs is the Orange Building | Photo by : : coco Rina : : via Flickr
LAist Contributor Michael Zampelli also runs a Kings hockey fan forum site called LetsGoKings.com. Last night, one of his members posted a story about his experience getting shot on the streets of Hollywood after an altercation at Big Wangs at Selma and Cahuenga. His story is pretty amazing:
My friend Shaun and I were at Big Wangs Bar in Hollywood trying to pick up on some females and while he was walking to the bathroom he happened to bump into a gentleman and things got a little out of hand with the pushing and shoving. I tried to defuse the situation as best as possible I told the guy hey were all here for a good time nobody wants trouble and I bought him a beer and everything seemed to be okay from 9:30 to say 11:45ish everything was fine we didn't talk they didn't interact nothing.As many of you who may go to Hollywood know that the parking situation is extremely messy so our car was parked a bit away from the bar itself. Little did we know that the same Gentleman was following us. As we were going to get into our car he punched my friend in his face cocked the gun and stuck it to my friends chin.
I was talking to the guy telling him that a little bump in the shoulder isn't worth going to jail for life and that lets just put the gun down and take care of this civil. I tried to just bring the gun away from my friends face because obviously a gunshot from this close would be fatal and I didn't want any of that to happen.After a minute of talking to the guy he seemed to settle down a little bit but his friend was egging him on and he was in a situation where he didn't want to do it but he didn't want to look like a punk in front of his friend.
I tapped the guy on the shoulder and said its all good lets just all go home and pass out and tried to lower the gun. As I did that he spazzed out and rang off a bunch of shots. 1 of the Bullets went into my stomach and out the left side. The other shot made a big dent in me and was the one that I felt the most. The 2 guys ran off. And about 15 minutes later an ambulance came for me.
Just to let everyone here know there was a crowd of people of say 5 to 7 watching this the whole time and none of them called the police. Even after I was shot I had to call 911 myself.
My friend was so in shock that he went into a weird moment where he couldn't talk couldn't dial couldn't do anything. After the ambulance arrived I decided that it was time for me to rest and let them and god take care of me.
And I woke up maybe 2 days later with my father and mother in my face. I am out. I am doing very well.
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this is pretty much one of my biggest fears.
This is incredibly fucked up, especially since I go there from time to time.
Was anyone at the restaurant able to identify him (them)? Please update us. Sounds awful.
I really wish the sheriff dept would abide by state laws and actually give legitimate, trained citizens CCW permits. Unfortunately, in Los Angeles, you only get those if you are a celebrity, or a judge.
It sounds like this guy was shot with a very small calibre (.22). Very lucky and amazing indeed.
But seriuosly, in LA, what are citizens supposed to do? Criminals and thugs pack heat, but the rest of us are supposed to get on our knees and wait for LAPD. Even if you are in a situation where you are lawfully defending yourself or loved one with a firearm, do you think you can get pass a jury in both a criminal and civil court case here? Seems to me alot of people think that "guns kill people" here. I sure as hell don't want that jury.
It sucks that this dude actually had to call 911 himself. It sounds to me that the witnesses were also probably scared and did not know what to do. Fight, flight, or do nothing. They chose to do nothing...
This is so sad to hear. I'm always reminded of that quote "Evil triumphs when good men do nothing." I hope if anyone finds themselves in a situation witnessing a crime, they do the right thing.
What would him carrying a gun have done, Scoty? Instead of one guy getting shot, you've got a shootout on the street. More people carrying guns scares me more than just the thugs having them, because then everybody's ego gets inflated. "Nobody's gonna mess with me, I've got a gun". Isn't that exactly what happened here?
I feel terrible that the guy got shot, but he did exactly the right thing. Except maybe for physically moving the gun, but other than that, the situation was almost diffused. You pull your own gun, the thug shoots immediately.
I can understand people not wanting to get in the middle and put themselves at risk. But at least call 911!
And call when you first see a gun, don't wait for someone to get shot.
If we give more people guns this will definitely not solve any problems. When I see any thugs no matter where I go I always expect they will do something stupid and to be honest there really is not much anyone can do.
It really sucks that no one actually called Police but that doesn't surprise me either. People just do not think, everyone thinks they have to prove something to another person, and when it all over they realize what a dumb mistake they made.
But there is a lesson here, do not bump into anyone in a club, and if you do keep an eye on them whole night and when you leave watch out because you never know where you will run into another moron with a gun, knife or another type of weapon.
maybe if some of those bystanders used their brains instead of just gawking, they could have diffused the situation.
unfortunately, between this and the episode where a fellow was run over and left for dead in the middle of a busy Hartford street, this "me me me" attitude is what is reaped when we keep hearing all this bullshit about an individualistic society where everyone only needs to worry about themselves. it's pretty sad, really that nobody feels the need to help someone else out in a distressing situation.
Jeremy.
I know this is a sensitive issue, but I will respond.
The ego inflated is a strong point. I do think that often people don't give enough credit to the smarts and conniving thugs and criminals have. I think that more silently armed citizens may cause these guys to think twice. They understand their victim doesn't know what they are capapble of (killing them).
However, to lump criminals and murder's in the same category as honest, good citizens of the city, and to assume that ALL of their egos will be inflated to the point of shootouts in the streets is rife with fallacy.
To get a CCW permit takes days of training on the range and in the classroom reviewing these types of situations, as well as the implications both moral and in the court room.
CCW permit carriers work to not let anyone ever know they carry, not to have shootouts in the street.
Why is Ben Affleck permitted to carry and I am not???
I think it's quite the opposite. You're giving the common sense of the good citizens of this city to criminals and murderers. Violent crime isn't rational. If a thug thinks his victim is armed, he'll still rob them, but either shoot first or be much more aggressive. And I still don't get it. How would the victim in this case have benefitted from carrying a gun? The assailant had already drawn his weapon at point blank range.
Your permit training sounds a lot like my driver's ed training. That's a scary thought.
And I've never heard anyone want to be more like Ben Affleck.
Just because someone has a gun, it doesn't mean they're going to transform into a trigger happy freak, and criminals are definitely less likely to victimize people who they think might be armed. They may be scumbags, but they most likely don't want to get shot themselves.
^^^^
Criminals pull guns all the time on other criminals who they pretty much know are also armed. That's what a gang shootout is.
What good could possibly come of that guy having a gun if there was already one pressed to his throat?? Let's say his friend had one. Even if he was responsible and judicious with how he used it, the mere presence of a gun would up the ante to shots being fired no matter what. It's a pride issue, and there no way the original guy is going to back down at that point...
A guy gets into Wangs with a gun, then drinks a bunch of alcohol. A formula for disaster.
Seems to me the place should lose its liquor license.
Hindinwood,
Yes I agree that criminal gangs turn on each other. I am not an expert in LA crime statistics, and I am not here to dissect the tactics of gang-warfare.
I am immediatly talking the legitmate citizens of LA being able to defend themselves against deadly violence.
Yes I agree, if you are carrying and your adversary has his weapon at your throat, your situational awareness has failed, and you better be trained in some serious ninja moves to turn the situation, or hope he is not going to kill you and will just have his way with you.
However, in this situation, shots were fired no matter what. The criminal presented his weapon and used deadly force. In this case, the victim (and argueably his friend) had every right to defend himself with deadly force. However, legitmate Angelenos, when presented with a gun on the street, can only use their fists or knife until that deadly force stops. (or someother type of "legal" weapon that may be available and capable of deadly force) The justice system in LA (and argueably the state of CA) gives the armed criminal on the street the advantage from the beginning to the end of both court rooms. It is just how it is.
I am actually surprised how many people are cool with this. This guy and his friend could have been killed or been pissing through a catheter for the rest of their life and I am merely pointing out the facts. There was nothing he could have done by law. I think that is Bullshit.
I live in Hollywood, am by that spot once a week, and walk by it frequently.
Well, I'm going to distinguish between gang activity and other criminal activity. Gangs are at war with each other. But if some guy is walking down the block wondering which house he's going to rob, I'm going to bet that he's not gonna go into the house with the "owner is armed" sign in the window.
I don't own a gun, but I have a problem with the way gun owners are stereotyped.
I am merely pointing out the facts. There was nothing he could have done by law. I think that is Bullshit.
The fact you're glossing over is that when a gun is pointed at you, there's nothing you can do at all. You've already lost. The victim had the right idea and was disarming the shooter by talking him out of it. You don't put a nervous person with his finger on a trigger at ease by pulling out your own gun.
Please tell me under what circumstance carrying a gun on your person turns this specific case around. When the guys were following him, should he have spun around and pulled his gun? Should he have drawn his gun when his friend got punched in the face? Are the bystanders supposed to have guns, and step in to help? The same bystanders that don't even call 911 after watching someone get shot?
Guns in homes, I'm fine with. Errant shots are less likely to kill bystanders, and interior walls allow you have a tactical advantage. But unless you're carrying your gun in your hand as you walk down the street, I just don't see how you keep someone from drawing a gun on you. And once that's happened, how does your gun help you?
I hate to do this, but I must relate this incident from last night.
I called 911 after hearing a crash and then witnessing smoke coming from one of the vehicles. I was asked a whole series of silly questions "was city property damaged?" and "is the driver drunk" (a crash survivor can appear to be drunk from concussion) I finally was able to get a word in edgewise to relate that the driver was on the wrong side of the street, that I had seen smoke, and it was a hell of a bang. I couldn't get close to the accident due to the distance limit of my cordless phone.
I was told where the driver was (wrong side of street) was a matter for the insurance companies. Since I no longer saw smoke and no one seemed to be injured 911 rang off.
My roommate, who had walked down there, related that the guy did indeed appear drunk and had thrown his keys down and attempted to bail the scene. Fortunately, some witnesses directed the ambulance to where the guy went and they collected him.
The police never did show up so I full expect this guy to come barreling down the street drunk again one day and nail someone.
So what's worse? Witnesses that don't call 911 or 911 operators who come up with excuses not to respond?
Jeremy,
This is the last time I am going to respond to your questions.
It is a common tactic for people wanting to kill other people to assess the threat level before proceeding. That "scuffle" near the bathroom? Fucking bullshit. They were making sure that their victim TOO was not armed.
If this did indeed happen, it looks like these people were particularly targeted for murder. This goes beyond people's bravado going overboard. This was a premeditated, planned attempted murder. (the "scuffle" to check the victim was not armed, the following through the streets, the punch to stun, the wielding of the weapon to intimidate).
In this situation, a person with a little background of the situation, I would argue would have the right to use deadly force to prevent an execution of an unarmed individual once he was shot. You "could" have the same protections (criminaly), as for example, if you killed your girlfriend's (or neighbor's) rapist while he was in the act. It would really be up to the DA to prosecute you. You would still be on the defense end of a civil court room.
Dude, to the guy that actually got shot (if true), I did not inted for this to become as popular as it did on LAist. However, it is an open forum and I will respond to people that ask questions.
Please know that there is at least one person, that would have a serious problem with watching you or anyone get executed. But there is not much that I, or anyone else who was at the scene that had some common sense, could have done for you, other than wait for LAPD.
THanks to everyone that responded here. Let's fucking move one.