Watch "True Crime: The North Hollywood Shootout 25 Years Later.". About a dozen LAPD officers and several bystanders were injured during the shootout. At the Los Angeles Police Museum in Highland Park, the robbers stickup duds and guns are on display in what has proved to be its most popular exhibit. Anderson fired his AR-15 below the cars and wounded Mtsreanu in his unprotected lower legs; he was soon unable to continue and put his hands up to show surrender. Military veterans quickly recognized the telltale blat of the Russian-designed AK-47 assault rifle. Because of how heavily armed and protected they were it was nearly impossible to take the two men down. Archived video from Feb. 28, 1997. It premiered on the FX Network on June 5, 2003. The Los Angeles officers who found themselves under a barrage of heavy machine-gun fire from the North Hollywood bank robbers quickly realized that their 9mm pistols and shotguns were ineffective against the armored gunmen. A cinder block wall provided relative cover for several detectives shooting at Phillips with their 9mm pistols. Track SoCal rain with LIVE Megadoppler 7000 HD. Figures of the North Hollywood shootout suspects, Larry Phillips, Jr., and Emil Matasareanu as they were dressed on the day of the robbery in North Hollywood are on display at the Los Angeles Police museum in Highland Park. Reactions: USMCMP5811 and 7costanza. 1997 bank robbery and subsequent shootout between bank robbers and police, This article is about the real-life incident. [32] The suit was later dropped when Mtsreanu's family agreed to dismiss the action with a waiver of malicious prosecution. At the end of that fateful day there were no fatalities except the robbers, though 18 people were injured in the assault. Their assignment on February 28, 1997 probably would have gone off without a hitch had they not been spotted by two LAPD patrol officers as they entered the bank. The pair, drawn together by a love of weight-lifting and weapons, had planned for months, assembling the body armor and reinforcing it over vital organs. It started as a robbery at a Bank of America on Laurel Canyon Boulevard and became one of Los Angeles' most prolific gun battles. The robbers were armed with. Across Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Jose Haro had hit the floor in his locksmith kiosk, where Zboravan and three other police officers took cover. [4][18] The Forensic Toxicology Laboratory of the Coroner's Office later also found ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine in Phillips' blood, and phenytoin in Mtsreanu's blood. More than 300 outgunned law enforcement officers from five agencies, fighting for their lives, fired back with more than 550 rounds. After a bystander reported the robbery to authorities, responding officers were met with a barrage of gunfire from Phillips as he casually walked out of the bank and into the parking lot. Forty-four minutes later, hundreds of rounds had been fired by the robbers carrying AK-47s and LAPD officers, most of whom were armed only with their handguns. It was a running gun battle through the streets of North Hollywood unlike any other the city had ever seen. READ ALSO | LAPD Chief Michel Moore looks back at 1997 NoHo bank robbery, San Bernardino County deputies to begin wearing body cameras, New Topgolf facility opens next to Montebello Golf Course, Snowfall reaches 15 feet in some areas of Yosemite National Park. One of the most violent days in LAPD history unfolded on live television on Feb. 28, 1997 when two bank robbers wearing body armor and wielding assault rifles engaged in a ferocious gunfight with officers on the streets of North Hollywood. It was from the kiosk, once positioned directly across from the north bank door, where Zboravan had nicked Phillips with his shotgun. 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out TV Movie 2003 R 1 h 43 m IMDb RATING 6.3 /10 5.3K YOUR RATING Rate Play trailer 0:31 1 Video 11 Photos Action Crime Drama After a failed bank robbery, two heavily armed men hold the Los Angeles Police Department at bay for 44 minutes. Mtsreanu became so enraged that he emptied a 75 round drum magazine into the vault, destroying the rest of the money. View our Terms of Service [17] Before entering, they took the barbiturate phenobarbital, prescribed to Mtsreanu as a sedative, to calm their nerves. A comprehensive look at the 1997 North Hollywood Shootout detailing the lives and crimes of Larry Phillips Jr. and . To work as a team, to move toward the threat and try to stop that threat as quickly as possible. Twelve police officers and eight civilians were injured and two suspects died in the shootout. For their heroism, 19 officers would receive medals of valor. LOS ANGELES LAPD Officer James Zboravan was two months and eight days out of the police academy when he faced a barrage of machine-gun fire, shot and wounded a bank robber and dove across unarmored officers to shield them with his bulletproof vest. [4] As the two were walking in, they were spotted by two LAPD officers, Loren Farell and Martin Perello, who were driving down Laurel Canyon in a patrol car. But while beating a retreat, he took a bullet in the knee and collapsed in the strip mall driveway. Haynes and Officer Whitfield, who were both wounded and had only marginal cover behind trees across Laurel Canyon Blvd. He shot himself in the head, but an autopsy report noted the coroner could not determine whether he or police fired the fatal shot. Coming from Duncan. Los Angeles, once known as the bank-robbery capital of the world with up to 900 heists in 1992, according to the FBI, had 11 such heists last year after police tactics developed after the infamous shootout were implemented. Rather than asking a bank teller to put the money in a bag, the two men who destroyed a quiet town went on an all-out assault of the LAPD and did an untold amount of property damage before ending their lives in one of the most violent police altercations to ever occur on USsoil. An infuriated Phillips loosed a full 75-round drum of 7.62x39mm into the bank vault, destroying much of the remaining cash. Archived video from Feb. 28, 1997. He bled to death while police, concerned about reports of a third masked gunman, searched the area. Their robbery has since been named The North Hollywood shootout or The Battle of North Hollywood. CNN. The bloody confrontation with police lasted nearly an hour. Haynes' patrol car. The LAPD Museum has a pretty cool exhibit about the North Hollywood Bank robbery with all the same weapons, clothing, body armor, cars, etc. The robbers allegedly filled a jam jar with gasoline and placed it in the back seat with the intention of setting the car and weapons on fire to destroy evidence after the robbery. [29] Phillips retrieved the HK-91 from the open trunk and continued firing upon officers while walking alongside the sedan, using it for cover. Emil Mtsreanu was shot 29 times in both legs and died from, This page was last edited on 25 February 2023, at 11:54. The North Hollywood bank robbery shootout was one of LA's most prolific gun battles. The North Hollywood shootout was a confrontation between two heavily armed and armored bank robbers, Larry Phillips Jr. and Emil Mtsreanu, and members of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in the North Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, United States on February 28, 1997. The two robbers in body armor and ski masks emerged from the bank with guns blazing. A fourth projectile then lacerated his upper right eyesocket and prompted him to duck behind the hood of the getaway car in shock; he subsequently abandoned his duffle bag of money, entered the getaway vehicle, and started the engine. Phillips discarded it and rearmed himself with another assault rifle from the trunk of the sedan. Phillips and Mtsreanudidnt know it, but they would change the face of America forever with the final 44 minutes of their lives. "We teach our officers to respond as a team. On the morning of the robbery, officials believe they took phenobarbital to help control their nerves. The shootout continued onto a residential street adjacent to the bank until Phillips, mortally wounded, succumbed to a self-inflicted gunshot wound; Mtsreanu was incapacitated by officers three blocks away and subsequently bled to death before the arrival of paramedics more than an hour later. Copyright 2023 KABC Television, LLC. The streets of North Hollywood resembled a war zone, with hundreds of rounds fired between police and the two heavily armed bank robbers. Our car started taking rounds. Of their nearly 4,000 rounds of ammo, many were armor-piercing. It is considered amongst one of the bloodiest shootouts in the history of the United States police force. He said, Oh man, its my lucky day.?. When his gun jammed and he was no longer able to advance, he shot himself. I cant forget that day, said Kazanchyan, now 49. The two robbers in body armor and ski masks emerged from the bank with guns blazing. The Robbery At 9:17am the two robbers arrived at the bank and set their watch alarms for 8 minutes. Outside, LAPD Officer Bill Lantz was five days out of the police academy when he and his training officer cowered behind their cruiser in the intersection. Before they were made of sheet metal that couldn't stop bullets. [27], At the same approximate time, LAPD gunfire struck the Heckler & Koch rifle that Phillips was firing, rendering it inoperable with a penetration to the receiver. [14] In May 1996, they robbed two branches of Bank of America in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, stealing approximately US$1.5million. North of the bank across Archwood Street, bullets drilled through the stucco of Baskin-Robbins, piercing ice cream counters above the pistachio almond bucket, as well as an ice cream cake in a now patched-up freezer. Soon the robbers realized that there was less money than they had expected because of a change in the bank delivery schedule. [4][5] Before meeting, Phillips was a habitual offender, responsible for multiple real estate scams and counts of shoplifting. LAPD Chief Michel Moore was one of the first responders to the scene. Two police officers on patrol saw them enter the bank wearing ski masks and body armor, and carrying military grade rifles. Ten officers and four citizens were wounded in the fighting, but no one other than the suspects died. It's alreadystaggering that nearly2,000 rounds of ammunition were fired in just 44 minutes, but what takes this over the top is that 1,100 of those rounds were fired by just two people: the perpetrators, Larry Phillips Jr.and Emil Mtsreanu. The police radioed for an ambulance, but Mtsreanu, loudly swearing profusely and still goading the police to shoot him, died before the ambulance and EMTs were allowed to reach the scene almost 70 minutes later. Emil Matasareanu and Larry Phillips Jr. were bank robbers: That was their job. Family of robber killed in L.A. shootout sues". But we all have families to go home to.. Thousands of rounds were fired as two heavily armed bank robbers were confronted by LAPD officers in the streets of the San Fernando Valley. Loren Farrel and Martin Perello were on patrol and driving down Laurel Canyon when they spotted the robbers. One of the most violent days in LAPD history unfolded on live television on Feb. 28, 1997 when two bank robbers wearing body armor and wielding assault rifles engaged in a ferocious gunfight with officers on the streets of North Hollywood. All rights reserved. [6][7], On July 20, 1993, Phillips and Mtsreanu robbed an armored car outside a branch of FirstBank in Littleton, Colorado. "[22] Additionally, the officers were pinned down by the heavy sprays of gunfire coming from the robbers, making it extremely difficult to attempt a head shot with their handguns. At 9:16 AM, Larry Philips Jr. and Emil Mtsreanu begun their robbery of Bank Of America's North Hollywood branch. The Shootout The memorandum lists the injuries of all officers who received injuries at the hands of the robbers. After the incident, the LAPD realized that their 9mm handguns were not going to suffice if there was a similar circumstance in the future, so they received 600 M-16 military rifles from the Pentagon. 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