On this date in 1997, LAPD officers patrolling North Hollywood saw two heavily armed masked men enter the Bank of America Branch on Laurel Canyon Blvd. Several minutes later the men left the bank with over $300,000 in cash. By that time, several other police units had arrived on the scene to provide backup. The robbers, Larry Phillips (above left) and Emil Matasareanu (above right) were ready for a confrontation with police; they were each carrying multiple weapons, had thousands of rounds of ammunition, and had taken phenobarbital prior to the robbery to calm their nerves. To make matters worse, they were both wearing body armor.
The robbers opened fire on the officers. In the ensuing gun battle, which lasted over 40 minutes, officers fired over 600 rounds, the robbers over 1000. Overmatched by the robbers' superior firepower, officers went to a local gun store to procure better weapons.
The shootout ended with the death of both suspects. Ten officers and seven civilians were injured.
You can see pictures from my 2008 trip to the scene here.
Here's a National Geographic documentary about the shootout:
Further reading:
Wikipedia - North Hollywood shootout
5 comments:
Wow, I remember when all this went down, watching it on the news. I'm going to have to come back and watch the documentary. I just remember thinking it was like something right out of a movie. Crazy stuff.
I'm sure you'd know I'd remember this one (since it occurred in my hometown), John. There was much preparation at the medical center I work at while this all was transpiring (and being broadcast). Glad you included the L.A. ROAD TRIP link. I've driven by the location once or twice, along with the site of SLA shootout (did you read Joseph Wambaugh's reference to to that one in his 1975 novel, THE CHOIRBOYS?). Thanks, John.
Chris,
The documentary is pretty good, I've watched it a couple times.
le0pard13,
Sad to say I didn't get to check out the SLA shootout scene. We were on a time crunch and had some very important business to take care of - lunch at Phillipe's.
Even sadder to say, I've never read Wambaugh. That's an oversight I plan to correct in the near future.
>officers went to a local gun store to procure better weapons
?????
Carmen,
The robbers were wearing body armor that standard police-issue firearms (pistols and shotguns) couldn't penetrate. They went to the gun store to procure high powered rifles that fired high-velocity rounds that could penetrate the armor. Military-style rifles and a number of good hunting rifles would do the trick. I heard somewhere that as a result of this, LAPD patrol supervisors now carry rifles locked in their trunks for just such a situation.
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