Police Shooting Victim Was Street Performer

Authorities today were withholding the name of a man who allegedly wielded a knife before he was fatally shot by police officers at a busy Hollywood intersection, as witness statements emerged that the man was street performer who would scare people while portraying a horror movie character.

The shooting happened about 7 p.m. at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue after officers responded to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Upon arrival, they encountered a man with a knife and an officer- involved shooting occurred, Los Angeles Police Officer Jane Kim said.

Witnesses told radio station KPPC the man was a street performer who portrayed the homicidal character from the movie “Scream” and that he would scare people with a fake knife or gun in an effort to garner tips.

LAPD Deputy Chief Terry Hara told the station the suspect was threatening people in the area and two bicycle officers who responded to the scene.

Capt. Peter Zarcone of the LAPD’s Hollywood Station told KPCC that police responded after someone called 911 to report they had been cut by a man with a knife.

“We didn’t find anybody that was cut. We did have (a) witness say he was swinging a knife and people were backing away from him,” the captain told the station.

The suspect was taken to a hospital in critical condition and later died, Kim said. His name was being withheld pending notification of kin, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

A pocket-type knife was found at the shooting scene, according to broadcast reports.

The intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, among the city’s busiest for pedestrian traffic, was closed while the shooting was investigated, LAPD Sgt. Chuck Slater said.

-City News Service