HOLLYWOOD (CNS) - A machete-wielding robbery and carjacking suspect was shot dead by police in Hollywood today, leaving one officer with a minor injury, authorities said.
According to Lieutenant Chris Ramirez, LAPD public information officer, the suspect entered an auto parts store on Highland Avenue, just south of Sunset, at about 11:30 a.m., where he committed a robbery with the machete.
The suspect then allegedly walked to a fast-food drive-thru on Sunset and Highland and carjacked a victim, taking the vehicle and trying to escape police before crashing into two police vehicles and coming to rest at the intersection of Sunset and Highland.
Ramirez said the suspect then exited the car with the machete in hand and tried to run from police. A video from the scene shows the suspect turning around and chasing one officer into the street. When the officer falls down, the man appears to raise the machete over his head before he is shot by another officer.
Paramedics sent to the 1400 block of North McCadden Place at 11:30 a.m. on an assault call took the suspect to a hospital with a gunshot wound, where he later died.
The officer suffered minor injuries to the elbows and knees and was treated and released. The machete was recovered at the scene, Ramirez said.
Sunset Boulevard was closed to traffic in the area of Las Palmas Avenue and Highland Avenue while the investigation was conducted. Police said they expected the area to remain closed for ``several hours.''
