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A gunman on foot firing randomly into traffic near the intersection of Sunset and Vine, the heart of Hollywood, was shot and killed by police officers this morning.
Witnesses said it appeared that the man was just firing randomly into the air, into traffic and into parking lots near the busy intersection of Sunset and Vine where there are restaurants, high-rise condos and the Arclight Theater. He fired until he ran out of bullets and pulled out a knife.
A witness Oscar Herrera told ABC 7 that he heard up to 12 shots. Another witness Trey Beffa described the terrifying scene to the Los Angeles Times: "He was almost running up the street. He was just going up randomly. Cars were driving down Vine street. He would walk right up to them and shoot the car."
He said that a customer at the Bank of America was shot in his car: “The guy walked up to him when he was in his car and started yelling at him and fired point blank range. He shot at the window and then he walked around and shot him right through the driver’s side window.”
Witnesses told CBS LA that the gunman screamed, "Kill me...I'm gonna die!"
Police working at a film nearby responded to the chaotic scene around 10:30am and shot the gunman several times in the middle of the street until he went down.
It's not clear how many people were hit by the gunman. The 40-year-old banking customer was shot in the jaw and he's been transported to Cedars-Sinai, according to the Times.
Here's a video uploaded to Twitter by user Rich Kingston. It's sort of hard to see exactly what is going on from the high-rise but you can hear shots fired, and the Huffington Post says this captures the moment the police shot the gunman:
12/10: The British press is having fun with this story. A sample headline: "Gunman who fired live bullets into crowds on Hollywood street was mistaken for actor in gangster movie filmed nearby."
The gunman has been identified as Tyler Brehm, 26, of Hollywood. The victim John Atterberry is still hanging on. He is a long-time music executive who worked with the Spice Girls, Jessica Simpson and Brandy. We have a full update here.
3:18pm: Diana Suarez told the Huffington Post she was stopped at a red light at Sunset and Vine when she saw the gunman — and he saw her. "He looked right at me," Suarez said. "I just peeled out, turned into the Chase bank and climbed over the wall until the chaos was over."
2:45pm: The Bank of America customer shot in the head was in critical condition, but he is expected to survive, according to the Times. LAPD are visiting the man's home to check to see if something going on at home prompted the shooting.
4:10pm Sunset Blvd is still closed between Vine and Argyle while police investigate the shooting, according to Total Traffic Los Angeles.
1:21pm: The Los Angeles Times has a terrifying 5-second clip of the gunman shooting at a truck passing by. The video was submitted by a reader and you can watch it here. Here's a screenshot:
