Updated July 20, 2025 at 5:23 AM MDT
A man plowed his vehicle into a crowd of people waiting to enter a Los Angeles nightclub early Saturday, injuring 30 people and getting shot by a bystander in the ensuing chaos.
Police said they received a call around 2 a.m. regarding an assault with a deadly weapon and traveled to the scene outside the club in the Rampart Village area of Los Angeles.
There, they found the suspected driver of the car-ramming being attacked by bystanders, one of whom shot the driver, before fleeing the scene.
The suspected driver, 29-year-old Fernando Ramirez, was taken to hospital, where he has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon. He was not seriously injured by the gunshot.
On Saturday afternoon, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a press release that 23 of the 30 adults who needed medical attention were taken to local hospitals for "assorted injuries, including 7 in critical condition, 6 in serious condition and 10 in fair condition." Seven injured people declined ambulance transportation, the department also said.
LAPD Public Information Officer Jeffrey Lee said: "thankfully as of right now, nobody has died from this."
Lee said that it was not immediately clear what caused the driver to plow into the crowd, but that officers had been made aware of a potential dispute between the driver and patrons inside the nightclub, and that he had been ejected from the establishment prior to the ramming episode.
"The primary focus is going to be what led to this," Lee said. "What caused this driver to plow into this crowd? Was it intentional, was it not intentional? Was it DUI related? Was it personal? We don't know, but detectives will look at all those angles."
L.A. Fire Department spokesperson Brian Humphrey told LAist that the suspected driver's car struck a food stand, a valet stand, and then struck and injured dozens. At that point, bystanders attacked the driver, before someone at the scene shot him. Humphrey said the suspected shooter then fled the location.
LAPD officer Jeffrey Lee said police are still looking for the suspected shooter, described as a Hispanic male, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, 180 pounds and bald. He said the man is to be considered armed and dangerous.
Fire Capt. Adam VanGerpen told the Associated Press that a line of people — the majority female — were waiting to enter the nightclub, the Vermont Hollywood, when they were struck by the Nissan Versa that also hit a taco truck and valet stand.
"The valet podium was taken out, the taco truck was taken out, and then a large number of people were impacted by the vehicle," said VanGerpen, a public information officer.
The Associated Press also reported that a fight had broken out outside of the club prior to the incident, citing Maria Medrano, who was operating a food cart outside. Shortly after, she said, the car hit a group of people standing outside.
Medrano told The Associated Press from the hospital that she then heard what appeared to be gunshots.
"Everyone started running," she said.
NPR's Chandelis Duster contributed to this report.
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