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Machete-Wielding Man Barricades Himself in Hollywood Apartment [UPDATED]
A man armed with a machete barricaded himself inside a Hollywood apartment building and screamed at police officers, keeping them at bay until about 4:30 Wednesday morning.
The unidentified suspect had allegedly threatened a woman while he was wielding the machete, according to City News Service. Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department were sent out around 10 p.m. Tuesday in response to reports of a man with a sword in the building on the 1700 block of North Fuller Avenue.
The suspect at one point stood shirtless on his apartment's fifth-floor balcony from which he threw the machete into the swimming pool, and screamed "Shoot me! Shoot me!" at police.
Some of the tense situation, including the man screaming at the cops, was caught on cellphone video.
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The man remained barricaded in the unit for several hours, during which time residents of the apartment building were evacuated, and Hollywood Boulevard was closed between Fuller and Camino Palmero Street.
At about 4:30 a.m. police fired tear gas into the unit, and the suspect was ultimately taken into custody and hospitalized for psychological evaluation.
UPDATE: The LAPD have identified the suspect as 28-year-old Oliviero Bozzi.
SWAT officers served a search warrant at the apartment where Bozzi was barricaded, and search of the unit resulted in the discovery of several weapons. Bozzi was booked for criminal threats.
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