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Update: [4:00 p.m.]: LAPD Sgt. Barry Montgomery has stated to reporters that the suspect is dead, and in the custody of the department. As LAPD Public Information Officer Tony Im confirmed to LAist, "'In custody' is a term we use for a suspect regardless of if they are dead or alive." Im said that the suspect was discovered dead by the SWAT team that entered the motel room. The cause of death is believed to be a gunshot wound, "but it's unknown if self-inflicted or we struck him." The department is investigating the death.
Update from #LAPD Sgt. Barry Montgomery ... man in #Hollywood officer involved shooting is dead but not clear how he died. pic.twitter.com/4slFiZDyfL
— Wes Woods II (@JournoWes) July 27, 2017
Update: [3:00 p.m.]: The hours-long standoff ended just before 3 p.m. Thursday, and the suspect is now in police custody. LAPD Officer Scott Gardner told LAist that "the situation is in hand" and "the suspect is contained." Whitley Avenue between Hollywood Boulevard and Yucca remains closed.
#LAPD 2nd Update: Suspect in custody, 1700 block of Whitley Ave. Area will remain closed as we conduct our investigation https://t.co/mntpEPRD2N
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) July 27, 2017
The tactical portion of the incident has concluded. Wider area will return to normal. Whitley BTWN Hollywood and Yucca will remain closed.
— Cory Palka (@lapd2014) July 27, 2017
A potentially armed assault suspect barricaded in a Hollywood motel is in an hours-long standoff with the LAPD. A SWAT team is currently on the scene and Hollywood Boulevard remains closed in both directions between Wilcox and Cherokee avenues, snarling traffic. The Motel 6 is located at 1738 Whitley Avenue in Hollywood.
An LAPD spokesperson told LAist that a call reporting shots fired first came in just before 11 a.m. The spokesperson also said that there was an officer-involved shooting, but no further information was yet available. The motel has also been evacuated.
LAPD Sgt. Barry Montgomery told Wes Woods of the Daily News in a video interview that witnesses said they observed a suspect armed with a handgun. According to Montgomery, no officers were injured during the gunfire, and it remains unclear whether the suspect was struck.
#LAPD Sgt. Barry Montgomery gives the rundown of what is now an officer involved shooting barricade situation in #Hollywood pic.twitter.com/EqlfKG9Q5O
— Wes Woods II (@JournoWes) July 27, 2017
"I woke up; there were just cops at the door, armed. They said, 'You gotta leave,'" a young man named Gabriel told KTLA. "We went to the lobby and all of sudden there were like three, four shots fired off....They said, 'you've gotta leave the entire building.'"
A suspect has barricaded himself inside a motel room in Hollywood. 📷@ForkReporter pic.twitter.com/zMdtKPPL4l
— KFI AM 640 (@KFIAM640) July 27, 2017
