The North Hollywood Shootout
The The North Hollywood Shootout a.k.a. the Battle of North Hollywood was some wild shit bro. Two guys covered from head to toe in body armor went to hold up a Bank of America in LA back in 1997 and the whole situation turned into a movie.
Alot of people nowadays are too young to remember, but two guys armed to the teeth had the whole LA police Department outgunned for the most part. It didn’t end well for the bank robbers, but they gave up a hell of a gunfight in the street.
They killed 12 cops and I think 8 civilians before the coppers finally took em out. The police counted over 2,000 spent shell casings spread over the area of the gun fight so that pretty much tells you them 2 cats weren’t there to play any games.
The North Hollywood shootout was an infamous and intense armed confrontation between two heavily armed bank robbers and officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) on February 28, 1997. It occurred after a botched robbery at a Bank of America branch in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
Key Details
-The Robbers: The two gunmen, Larry Phillips Jr. and Emil Mătăsăreanu, wore body armor and carried a wide array of weapons, including illegally modified assault rifles capable of firing fully automatic rounds.
-The Robbery and Escape: They intended to rob the bank quickly, but after setting off silent alarms, LAPD officers responded just as they were leaving the bank. A fierce firefight ensued as the robbers tried to escape.
-Firepower Disparity: At the time, LAPD patrol officers typically carried only handguns and shotguns, which proved ineffective against the robbers’ body armor and high-caliber weapons.
-Gun Battle: Lasting about 44 minutes, the shootout spanned multiple locations, with the robbers firing hundreds of rounds at officers and civilians. They even attempted to shoot down a police helicopter. The gunmen wounded 11 police officers and 7 civilians.
-Resolution: Phillips took his own life after being critically injured, and Mătăsăreanu was incapacitated and later died due to his injuries.
Impact and Aftermath
This event highlighted the need for better-armed police forces to handle situations involving high-powered weaponry. As a direct response, the LAPD and many other police departments across the U.S. began equipping patrol officers with higher-caliber weapons, including rifles. The shootout also led to changes in police tactics and response to heavily armed suspects, influencing law enforcement practices nationwide.
I’m almost certain right after this crazy shit popped off is when the LAPD started carrying Glocks. Before that they had those old .38 revolvers. All the cops in the country also switched to Glocks shortly after.
The bank robbery/shootout scene from the movie Heat with Robert Deniro and Val Kilmer was loosely based on this event as well.
