Machete-wielding man arrested in Hollywood apartment standoff
A machete-wielding man threatening tenants in a Hollywood apartment complex was arrested early Wednesday after a seven-hour standoff, Los Angeles police officials said.
The man was arrested about 5:30 a.m. after LAPD SWAT officers surrounded the building in the 1700 block of Fuller Avenue near Hollywood Boulevard and fired tear gas inside, officials said.
The man went down to the Jacuzzi area of the pool and began threatening people, KTLA-TV reported. Some of the people called 911, and the man went back to his fifth-floor apartment.
Video of the showdown broadcast on KTLA showed the man telling police, “Shoot me! Shoot me!”
Around 4:30 a.m., police started to act, according to media reports.
“When I was walking to my door, I saw cops with rifles and everything in the hallway,” resident Young Lee told KTLA.
“I heard, ‘Put the machete down, put the hammer down, knife down…’ I don’t know what this guy has, but he has everything,” he said.
Police had not yet confirmed that he had a hammer and a knife. They had been called to the scene about 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Authorities had evacuated nearby apartments, and by 6 a.m. Wednesday, residents were allowed to return to their homes.
The man’s identity was not immediately available.
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