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LAPD Detains Driver After East Hollywood Crowd Ramming, Searches for Shooter

Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage to clarify whether the crash was intentional or the result of a medical emergency.

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A vehicle sits on the sidewalk after ramming into a crowd of people waiting to enter a nightclub along a busy boulevard in Los Angeles early Saturday, injuring several people.
Police patrol vehicles close Vermont Ave. after a vehicle rammed into a crowd gathered outside "The Vermont" nightclub in Los Angeles, early Saturday.
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Overview

  • Around 2 a.m. on July 19, a Nissan Versa mounted the sidewalk outside Vermont Hollywood, destroying a taco cart, valet stand and striking a line of patrons.
  • The Los Angeles Fire Department reported more than 30 injured—three critical, six serious and the rest fair or minor—and deployed over 100 personnel to triage and transport victims.
  • Driver Fernando Ramirez, 29, was pulled from the vehicle, shot by a bystander and arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon; he remains hospitalized in stable condition.
  • LAPD investigators are examining video and witness statements to determine whether Ramirez deliberately targeted the crowd or suffered a medical episode behind the wheel.
  • Authorities have issued a description of the unidentified shooter—a bald Hispanic male armed with a silver revolver—and are urging anyone with information to contact police.