Dozens injured after car rams into crowd outside Los Angeles nightclub
It was not immediately clear if the driver had been shot before or after the crash or why he drove into the crowd, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said.
Twenty-three victims were taken to local hospitals and trauma centres, according to police.
At least three were in a critical condition after being injured along Santa Monica Boulevard in East Hollywood, the Los Angeles City Fire Department said.
Fire Captain Adam Van Gerpen said that a queue of people — the majority female — were waiting to enter a nightclub when they were struck by a Nissan Versa that also hit a taco truck and valet stand.
'They were all standing in line going into a nightclub. There was a taco cart out there, so they were … getting some food, waiting to go in. And there's also a valet line there,' said Capt Van Gerpen, a public information officer.
'The valet podium was taken out, the taco truck was taken out, and then a large number of people were impacted by the vehicle.'
People inside the club came out to help in the minutes before emergency crews arrived to help the victims.
The driver, whose gunshot wound was found by paramedics, was taken to a local hospital. Police did not identify him or disclose his condition.
'This is under police investigation,' Capt Van Gerpen said. 'This will be a large investigation with the LAPD.'
The club, Vermont Hollywood, was hosting a reggae/hip hop event from 10pm to 2am local time, according to its online calendar.
A fight had broken out outside the club prior to the incident, according to Maria Medrano, who was working on a food cart outside.
Shortly after, Ms Medrano said the car hit a group of people standing outside.
She said she and her husband, who were both selling hot dogs outside, narrowly escaped after the car struck their stand, crushing it.
'The car stopped once it hit the hot dog stand, it got stuck there,' Ms Medrano told The Associated Press from the hospital. 'If not, I wouldn't be here to tell (the story).'
Ms Medrano said she heard what appeared to be gunshots after the crash.
'Everyone started running,' she said.
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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
American Idol boss and her husband were in safety meeting with LAPD chief hours before their murder
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Despite a 4pm call by a neighbor to 911 to report an intruder at the property on the same day, their bodies were not discovered at the gated mansion on White Oak Avenue until four days later on July 14 after frantic family members requested a welfare check. Suspect Raymond Boodarian was arrested by lawmen, with weapons drawn, the following day at the nearby rented Reseda townhome he shared with his mother and sister. The 22-year-old has been charged with two counts of murder and other offenses in relation to the deaths. The savage murders have horrified residents of LA, especially those who live in the same community where celebrities such as Machine Gun Kelly, Michael B. Jordan and Matt LeBlanc have homes. 'We just couldn't be more saddened and shocked at what has occurred in the neighborhood,' Rob Glushon, President of the Encino Property Owners Association, told the Daily Mail exclusively. Kaye, he said, regularly attended the association's monthly community zoom meetings on crime and other local issues and praised her as 'someone who wasn't just complaining about things, but was trying to do something about it.' He lauded her as a 'good neighbor' who 'believed in the mantra, if you see something, say something. 'When it comes to neighborhood protection, it actually doesn't start with the police - it starts with neighbors watching out for each other.' Glushon confirmed that Kaye and her husband, both aged 70, had attended the C-PAB branch meeting with the chief of police which was held at the local West Valley LAPD station in Reseda. A source, who met the couple for the first time at the meeting and sat at the same table with them for two hours, told the Daily Mail he was stunned to hear of their murders the following day. 'It's incredible,' he said. 'Beyond tragic. I could tell they were a lovely couple. They spoke movingly about their concerns about crime but also how much they loved the area.' With chilling happenstance, the event location at the police station was just half a mile north from Boodarian's home and the site of his arrest. Glushon also spoke of Kaye's fear after a previous break-in in May when an intruder entered the home when the couple was home but fled. He said 'she was concerned over what she had experienced, which was pretty scary.' Boodarian allegedly scaled a wall to get onto the property and entered the home through an unlocked door 30 minutes after the pair arrived home from grocery shopping. Prosecutors allege he placed a call to emergency services on his cell phone during the break-in at about 4.40pm. The dispatcher was told that someone had broken in and they could hear the caller say: 'Please don't shoot me!' The unidentified caller then told the operator that a police response was not required. 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Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- Scottish Sun
‘Killer who shot dead American Idol exec & husband called 911 in home pretending to be them' 4 days before bodies found
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A SUSPECTED shooter called 911 and pretended to be American Idol executive Robin Kaye and her husband after murdering them, prosecutors have claimed. It took four days for cops to find the bodies of Kaye and her songwriter husband Thomas Deluca, both 70, despite them directly speaking with 22-year-old suspect Raymond Boodarian. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 6 American Idol music supervisor Robin Kaye and her husband, Thomas Deluca, were found dead inside their home on July 14 Credit: Facebook 6 Raymond Boodarian, 22, has been arrested and accused of killing the couple Credit: LAPD 6 Kaye and Deluca were found with gunshots to the head in their $3.4 million Los Angeles, California, mansion Credit: The Mega Agency On July 10 at around 4 pm, cops got a 911 call from the couple's neighbor, who said they thought they saw someone breaking into their $3.4 million mansion in Los Angeles, California. Just 40 minutes later, first responders got a second call from a man claiming to be a resident, and he told the operator that they didn't need help from police. At some point during the call, the dispatcher heard someone say "Please don't shoot me" and deployed officers, a search warrant affidavit filed by the Los Angeles Police Department says. According to Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman, the second call was placed by the suspect, who identified himself at some point in the conversation, he told reporters at a briefing on Monday. read more on this case PRODUCER'S CONCERNS American Idol exec 'feared for safety' at home before being found dead Jennifer Forkish, the LAPD communications director, said cops raced to the scene and that they deployed a police airship known as Air 16 to survey the property. However, first responders couldn't get into the property because the entrances were locked and no one, including the neighbor, was answering their calls, Forkish said. Officers in the helicopter also couldn't see any sign that a break-in had taken place, so they left the home. Hochman has not explained how or why Boodarian gave his full name. It wasn't until June 14 at around 2:30 pm that officers would find Kaye and Deluca's bodies during a wellness check. A friend of the couple said they hadn't heard from them in several days and gave cops a key card to get inside the wall surrounding their property. American Idol music supervisor Robin Kaye and husband Thomas Deluca both 'murdered inside LA home' When they came to the doors, cops saw signs that something was wrong and burst through a glass window to get inside. Kaye and Deluca were found dead with gunshot wounds to the head. Boodarian was arrested the following day. Investigators found what they believe to be the murder weapon and said it was the couple's own gun. 6 Kayle, seen in 2014, was the music supervisor for the reality TV show Credit: Getty 6 Cops came back to the home after four days to respond to a wellness check Credit: The Mega Agency 6 A wall surrounding the property hid signs of a break-in Credit: Getty COMMUNITY TERROR After Boodarian was cuffed, it was revealed he had a violent criminal history, and residents were furious that he was allowed to roam the streets. The suspect, who is from Encino and lived a 13 minute drive from the couple, was charged with battery and exhibiting a deadly weapon over a year before his latest arrest. However, he was deemed mentally incompetent, and the charges were dropped, court documents seen by KABC show. The suspect was also charged with brandishing a knife and making threats against his stepfather in 2023, as well as battery against his mother and sister in 2024. But those charges were also dismissed. Kaye and Deluca's home was broken into just weeks before they were attacked, and they had tried to crack down on security to prevent any other incidents, according to friends of the couple. Furious community members have begged for a crackdown on crime and opened up about disturbing red flags they saw in the suspect. One person living in the neighborhood said that Boodarian would "sit in front of my friend's house just staring and smiling," according to the New York Post. "He did that on multiple occasions, sometimes in his own house, just looking out the window and smiling." Boodarian has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of first-degree burglary, and he's being held without bail in a Los Angeles correctional facility. His next court appearance has been scheduled for August 20.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
American Idol boss and husband were shot with their own gun as it's revealed 911 call came from killer's cellphone
The alleged killer of American Idol boss Robin Kaye and her husband used the couple's own gun to cut them down in cold blood at their home, it has emerged. Authorities also believe Raymond Boodarian, 22, called 911 from his cell phone during a violent break-in at the couple's Encino, California, property on July 10. The bodies of Kaye, a music supervisor on the hit show, and Thomas Deluca, both 70, were not discovered by officers from the Los Angeles Police Department until four days later on July 14 after worried relatives requested a welfare check. They were found in different rooms and pronounced dead at the scene after being shot multiple times, including to the head. The DA's office told the Daily Mail: 'The District Attorney's Office can confirm that the suspect placed a 911 call and that the firearm involved in the homicide was registered to the victim.' 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'Robin and Tom didn't experience safety that night. Safety failed them.' Boodarian was arrested the day after the murders were discovered. He has been charged with two counts of murder and a count of residential burglary, with the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders and murder during the commission of a burglary. He has not yet entered a plea and is currently being held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles without bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for August 20. 'Mr. Boodarian got caught because he used his cellphone to contact police concerning this situation,' explained Hochman during Monday's meeting. 'Police were able to ping the cellphone, find out where he lived, go to his residence and arrest him.' Police had previously said they received two separate 911 calls on the day of the break-in. According to the Los Angeles Times, a neighbor called 911 at 4pm on July 10 to report that a man was attempting to break into Kaye and Deluca's $4.5 million gated mansion on White Oak Avenue. About 40 minutes later, a call was placed to emergency services from inside the couple's property and the dispatcher was told that someone had broken in and the they could here the caller say: 'Please don't shoot me!' The caller then told the operator that a police response was not required. Follow-up attempts to reach the caller by phone were unsuccessful. Shocking details are contained in a search warrant affidavit filed by the the San Fernando Valley homicide unit, reported the Times. The warrant does not specify if the caller was Boodarian pretending to be one of the victims or actually from Kaye or her husband. Police sent officers to inspect the property on the day of the murders, aided by a helicopter, but they left after failing to gain access. 'Officers arrived on scene and conducted a check of the surrounding area and attempted to visually check the residence through the security gate, LAPD spokesperson Jennifer Forkish said in a statement. 'They attempted entry at two access points but both were locked and secured. The home was secured with surrounding walls.' Forkish added that the police helicopter 'visually checked the location and advised there was no visible activity or evidence of break in. 'After taking additional steps to contact the persons reporting and residents at the location, officers cleared from the scene.' According to LAPD Deputy Chief Marla Ciuffetelli, also at Monday's meeting, the department is conducting an assessment of its response to the murders. 'We're always striving to try to respond better, Ciuffetelli said. 'We're taking a very close look at the response. I'm not saying that there was any mistakes made, but we're making sure that in similar circumstances, that we respond appropriately. LAPD Capt. Michael Bland said that patrols in Encino are being increased. This is not something we take lightly,' he said. Court records show that Boodarian was jailed last year on suspicion of threat, weapons, and battery charges. But in December a judge dismissed the cases following a mental health evaluation. Court records show he was placed in a conservatorship, which puts another adult in charge of major decisions in a person's life if they've been diagnosed with a severe mental disorder. A neighbor, who did not want to be named, told the Daily Mail she would occasionally see Boodarian roaming the complex 'looking really, really disturbed.' Otherwise, she kept her distance. She described how he would sometimes have an 'episode' and appear 'ready to break the walls.' 'It feels like he's gonna break right through the wall and is coming into my place.' She added: 'The cops have been here in the past. The mother's called and said "I can't control him."' The neighbor claimed that on at least one occasion, Boodarian had to be strapped to a stretcher and removed from the property. Court records show that Boodarian was jailed last year on suspicion of threat, weapons, and battery charges before the alleged break-in into the slain couple's home (pictured) She said: 'They're always repairing the unit inside. I don't know if he bangs his head or if he throws things, I don't know, but it's usually really loud. 'He can get really violent. And I don't know if he's throwing furniture or if he's banging with his fist on the wall, but he has actually broken the drywall.' The neighbor alleged that on one occasion he 'broke a couple of his mom's ribs,' though she did not elaborate on the alleged incident.
