Suspect shoots herself after firing at vehicle
By Edwin Folven, 7/19/2012
Suicide attempt occurs after police pursuit in Hollywood
Detectives in Hollywood are investigating the motive behind an incident on July 15 in which a female suspect fired shots at a vehicle parked on Lillian Way, led police on a chase through the Hollywood Hills and then shot herself in the head.
The initial shooting occurred on Lilian Way, just north of Melrose Avenue. (photo by Edwin Folven)
The female suspect, who police said was 30 years old, was part of a group of six individuals who had been out at the nightclubs in Hollywood before returning to a residence in the 700 block of Lillian Way around 3:30 a.m. The suspect and another woman in the group allegedly got into an argument, according to Lt. Marc Reina, with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood Division. After briefly leaving the area, the suspect returned and fired several rounds at a vehicle parked on Lillian Way, next to the parking lot of a Pavilions supermarket.
Reina said someone from the group called 911 to report the shooting, but the suspect had fled before officers arrived.
Officers in an LAPD helicopter saw a vehicle driving away from the area at a high rate of speed, and followed the vehicle until patrol units caught up with the driver near the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street. A pursuit ensued that lasted approximately 10 minutes, and took police north through the Cahuenga Pass and into Studio City. The suspect pulled into the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 4500 block of Coldwater Canyon Avenue, and as officers approached the vehicle, the driver shot herself in the head.
“We don’t know the motive, other than there was a dispute or an argument among friends, and everybody left the area,” Reina said. “She came back on her own and fired several shots from a handgun into a white BMW that was parked in the area.”
Reina said two of the people in the group live on Lillian Way. He said the suspect remains in critical condition at a local hospital, and her name is not being released.
“It is strange that she would shoot herself, and we are investigating what led up to this,” Reina added. “We are also investigating whether the gun belonged to her or someone else.”
He said the other woman involved in the argument was not injured. The suspect had no permanent address, but had reportedly been staying in an apartment at the building where she shot herself.
Anyone with further information about the incident is asked to contact detectives with the LAPD’s Hollywood Division at (213)972-2967.
