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Were Shots Fired Near Pro-Trump Rally In Woodland Hills?
A pro-Trump rally in Studio City on August 30, 2020. (Josie Huang/LAist)
5:50 p.m. UPDATE: LAPD officers and a SWAT team have left a Woodland Hills apartment building where they had responded to a report of shots fired at pro-Trump supporters who were lined up for a caravan late Sunday morning.
According to a reporter for the L.A. Daily News:
I have now spoken to several residents of the Woodland Hills neighborhood where a confrontation between Trump supporters in a caravan and guys on a balcony popped off.
— Josh Cain (@joshpcain) August 30, 2020
They all said unequivocally that no shots were fired, though it sounds like a gun may have been brandished.
We are trying to reach the LAPD public information office for details.
ORIGINAL STORY: Three men are barricaded inside an apartment building in Woodland Hills after gunshots were reported near a pro-Trump rally on Ventura Blvd. late Sunday morning. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that a SWAT team is at the scene.
It's unclear whether the shooting was related to the rally.
A pro-Trump caravan was scheduled to leave from Ventura Blvd. and Winnetka Ave. at 11 a.m. and head for Jerry’s Famous Deli in Studio City. Before the caravan started, traffic was backed up on Ventura west of Winnetka.
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A witness driving east on Ventura Blvd. at around 11:30 a.m. called police after she heard what she believed were shots fired, then noticed her tire went flat.
A second witness called police separately, saying that they believed the shooter was inside The Avalon apartment building at 20544 Ventura Blvd. The building was evacuated, and police said three suspects were barricaded inside the building.
California Assembly candidate Jeffi Girgenti was at her nearby campaign office and said: "We heard people saying something was going on up the hill, and we were told that it was fireworks that were being thrown at protesters. And then one of our new volunteers informed us that there was actually a shooting going on."
No injuries were reported.
The caravan continued to Jerry's Famous Deli, where managers were reportedly unhappy that the L.A. County GOP party had chosen the restaurant as its destination. Pro- and anti-Trump supporters argued with each other at the intersection of Ventura Blvd. and Petit Ave. as LAPD officers looked on, but there were no reports of violence.
This is a developing story.
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