North Hollywood bank heist erupts in gunbattle;
6 civilians, 10 officers injured; 2 robbers killed:
March 1, 1997
By Gregory J. Wilcox, Jaxon Van Derbeken and Jeannette DeSantis, Staff Writersdailynews.com
Posted: 09/24/2010 05:22:12 PM PDT
September 25, 2010 1:40 AM GMTUpdated: 09/24/2010 06:40:39 PM PDT
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Sgt. Steven Gomez, the last active LAPD SWAT officer involved in the Bank of America shootout in North Hollywood in 1997, retired Friday. Here's a look back at the now-infamous shooting that injured 19 officers and civilians after two heavily armed gunmen opened fire with fully automated rifles. From an article that appeared in the Los Angeles Daily News on March 7, 1997 —
Armed with automatic weapons and body armor, two masked men robbed a North Hollywood bank Friday and then were killed trying to blast their way to freedom, spraying bullets into houses and cars as the world witnessed it live on television.
For five long hours, the heist gripped the east San Fernando Valley in terror, closing the Hollywood (170) Freeway, gridlocking North Hollywood streets, rerouting air traffic at Burbank Airport and shocking the city and nation with the naked brutality of these two robbers.
Nearly 350 heavily armed Los Angeles Police Department officers and FBI agents converged on the Bank of America branch near Laurel Plaza, trading shots with the two robbers. One was killed when his gun jammed. A second was badly wounded and bled to death in the street after trying to commandeer a pickup truck from a passing motorist who ran for his life.
Police searched into the night working methodically house to house looking for a third and possibly a fourth suspect. The search was unsuccessful but police did not discount the possibility that other accomplices may be at large.
Friday's robbery helped seal Southern California's reputation as "bank robbery capital of the world," with its average of three heists a day.
"It is the worst display of violent gunfire in Los Angeles since the Symbionese Liberation Army shootout in 1974," police Chief Willie L. Williams said during a news conference. "This is the thin blue line in all of our cities."
Through it all, despite the enormous firepower, amazingly only the robbers suffered life-threatening injuries. At times, civilians put their lives at risk to help police in tremendous displays of heroism.
Ten police officers were injured, including one of the first to respond to the 9 a.m. robbery. Shot in the leg and arm, Stuart Guy was rescued by a colleague, Tracy Angeles, who pulled him into a patrol car that then backed away from the bank at high speed.
In the ensuing firefights, six citizens were wounded by errant gunshots, flying shrapnel and traffic accidents caused by the confusion. None of the injuries was believed to be serious.
"This is a pretty good example of what police officers anywhere in the country can be faced with any day," Williams said. "The only group of people out there in this city that intentionally put themselves in harm's way are the LAPD."
Mayor Richard Riordan arrived at the scene and praised the police for their bravery and diligence under fire. "The training that they had paid off in this dangerous situation," he said.
The mayor used the event to condemn the sale of assault weapons to citizens, saying: "Today was a very good example of why they should be outlawed."
Within moments after the holdup, police began to cordon off several square miles of North Hollywood so they could search for suspects. A military-style armored personnel carrier with a battering ram was dispatched to level a garage where police thought suspects were hiding. No one was found.
"There were only two we know who were actively involved," Williams said, adding that he did not expect that any additional robbers escaped the cordoned-off area. "When you're dressed for war, it's hard to melt into the population."
The robbers are believed to be military veterans, now members of what the FBI says is the notoriously violent "Shoot 'em Up Bandits," also nicknamed the "AK-47 Bandits." The FBI has tied the group to two heists at Bank of America branches in the Valley, one May 2 and the other May 31, 1996.
As in past robberies, Friday's began when two robbers wearing ski masks and dressed entirely in black entered the bank, ordered customers to the floor and let loose a burst of automatic gunfire. Using armor-piercing bullets, the robbers blasted their way through barricades designed to protect tellers.
"It is nothing short of full-scale military battle facing this kind of thing," said Bill Rehder, bank robbery coordinator for the FBI's Los Angeles office. "I've never seen anything like it. There hasn't been anything like it."
The LAPD officers responded as best they could, Rehder said. "They just covered themselves in heroism," he said.
It all began when a bank employee tripped an alarm. The two robbers left the bank wheeling a handcart filled with money. And then for some reason, one of them went back into the bank and opened fire, injuring an undetermined number of people inside.
The first to respond were two uniformed officers, but they quickly were strafed with automatic gunfire. They called for backup, but officers responding also found themselves under a rain of bullets.
"At the time we rolled up, we were pinned down by lots of gunfire. We were just trying to take cover," said Lt. Nick Zingo, a North Hollywood watch commander. "I was concerned at the time that we did not have the gun power to battle these suspects. And I was worried that my officers were going to get killed."
Thousands of rounds flew through the neighborhood, bounded by Kittridge and Hamlin streets and Victory and Laurel Canyon boulevards. Residents peered out windows - and then hid.
In the street, the officers radioed for more ammunition and made sure they were wearing bulletproof vests. They already were hearing that the suspects were dressed in full body armor.
"We had reports that the suspects were being hit but not going down," said Sgt. Sam Layton of the LAPD's North Hollywood Division.
Armed only with their shotguns and 9 mm handguns, the officers went to a nearby gun shop, where employees broke out shotguns and rifles and more powerful ammunition. Officers faced what Williams said were armor-piercing, automatic rifles that could slice through a police-issue bulletproof vest 200 yards away.
"They had our officers, who were undergunned, at bay for almost an hour. It was a horrendous situation," said Cmdr. Tim McBride.
With an assault rifle in hand, one robber walked slowly down Kittridge Street, taking cover behind a white sedan driven by his accomplice. At one point, police say, his gun jammed and almost immediately he was shot to death.
Adding to the surreal scene, unaware motorists drove along Kittridge, slowing when they saw the white sedan bearing the second robber. At one point, the robber blasted through the windshield at a brown pickup truck.
The truck's driver ran.
Caught between the truck and sedan, the surviving robber traded shots with police, until officers outflanked him. Badly wounded, he raised his arms, apparently in surrender, and then dropped to the ground in a fetal position.
Officers rushed around the car, grabbed his gun and spread him out.
It wasn't clear immediately to police whether there were other robbers trying to escape. At one point, police thought that with two dead they were looking for three more suspects.
Vans with blacked-out windows disgorged scores of officers wearing helmets and carrying high-powered automatic weapons. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies arrived, as did officers from the California Highway Patrol.
Thirty-five-year-old Jack Klian, a free-lance cameraman from North Hollywood, rushed to the area with a video camera and expected to record a car chase - but he found a terrifying scene unfolding.
"The bullets were flying left and right, it was terrible. I was trying to stay alive," he said.
SHOOTOUT: The victims
Hospitals called in extra personnel and tightened security as victims flooded in for treatment. In all, 10 officers were hurt, seven of them with gunshot wounds, two with knee injuries and one in a traffic accident. At least five civilians also were hurt, some with multiple gunshot wounds. Two suspects died in the street after gunbattles with police.
Here is a breakdown of the injured.
LOS ANGELES POLICE
Sgt. Larry D. Haynes, 41, of the North Hollywood Division; 16 years on the job. He was treated at Northridge Hospital Medical Center for gunshot wounds to the shoulder and legs. Released.
Officer Martin Whitfield, 29, of the Van Nuys Division; six years on the job. He remains at Northridge Hospital Medical Center with a broken right femur, injuries from shrapnel on his left side, chest and arm. Also had glass in his chest. Underwent surgery.
Officer James Zboravan, 26, of the North Hollywood Division; eight months on the job. Treated for a gunshot wound in the buttocks at Northridge Hospital Medical Center and released.
Officer David Grimes, 29, of the North Hollywood Division was treated at North Hollywood Medical Center for traffic accident injuries and released. He has two years with the department.
Officer Manuel Valladares, 51, of the North Hollywood Division, received a superficial wound to the head and was treated and released from North Hollywood Medical Center. A 26-year Los Angeles Police Department veteran.
Officer William Lantz, 28, of the Foothill Division was treated at North Hollywood Medical Center for abrasions and contusions, and released. He is in his sixth month on the job.
Detective William Krulac, 49, of the North Hollywood Division suffered a gunshot wound to the right ankle. He was treated at Valley Presbyterian Hospital. Like Valladares, he is a 26-year police veteran.
Detective Tracy Angeles, 29, of the North Hollywood Division's juvenile division, suffered a graze wound to the stomach and buttocks. Angeles was treated at Encino-Tarzana Medical Center and released. Six years on the job.
Officer Stuart Guy, 31, of the North Hollywood Division, was treated at Holy Cross Medical Center for a gunshot wound to the right leg and arm. Seven years on the job.
Officer John Goodman, 28, of the Van Nuys Division was treated at Kaiser-Permanente in Woodland Hills for abrasions and released. Six years on the job.
THE CIVILIANS
Tracy Fisher, 28, of Studio City was grazed by a bullet while on her way to the Bank of America ATM. She received eight stitches at North Hollywood Medical Center and was released.
An unidentified man with Fisher underwent surgery at North Hollywood Medical Center for gunshot wounds in the torso.
Four other civilians also were hurt, although no further information is available. One is believed to have been critically wounded in the traffic accident with Officer Grimes.
THE SUSPECTS
An unidentified gunman was shot by police after he tried to commandeer a pickup truck from a bystander.
An unidentified gunman emptied the rounds from his AK-47, then resorted to a handgun. He swaggered down the street firing at officers and was shot and killed.
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