Gunman runs amok in Hollywood but passers-by think it's part of a film

A gunman shooting randomly at passers-by on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard was killed by armed police as tourists looked on – thinking they were witnessing a crime film being shot. A crowd watched in ­excitement as the 26-year-old man drew a gun then walked down the street firing at cars. He wounded a driver before cops shot him dead.



It happened on Sunset Boulevard near where Sean Penn is filming crime drama Gangster Squad. Police said witnesses mistook the drama for the film being made. One witness said he was walking along when the gunman began shooting “in every which direction”. Police are trying to determine a motive for the attack.

Chris Johns captured video of the gunman from his apartment window several stories above the street, and tried to distract and divert the gunman from shooting anyone on the street. "Hey why don't you come up here! Come up here buddy!" Johns yelled. Johns told local TV he saw a plainclothes officer shoot the man. "I started shouting out to the officer, saying 'take him out, that's the guy!'" Johns said.


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The gunman was pronounced dead at the scene, Los Angeles police Officer Cleon Joseph said no officers were hurt. He was a 26-year-old from Los Angeles, police spokeswoman Norma Eisenman said. The area was cordoned off and the gunman lay under a white sheet in the street hours after the gunfire, leaving traffic tangled on busy Hollywood streets, an area packed with stores and restaurants. The 40-year-old male driver of a Mercedes-Benz was wounded in his upper body and taken to a hospital in unknown condition. A truck and another car were struck by bullets.