Shooting suspect forces Sunset Boulevard closure
By Edwin Folven, 8/30/2012
News helicopter makes emergency landing during incident
The Los Angeles Police Department’s Bomb Squad recovered a movie prop Monday from an apartment belonging to a shooting suspect near Sunset Boulevard.
The LAPD’s Bomb Squad was called when police found what they thought was an explosive device in a Hollywood apartment. The device turned out to be a movie prop. (photo by Edwin Folven)
Officers initially thought the prop was a stick of dynamite, and several blocks around the apartment in the 6600 block of Leland Way were cordoned off and evacuated until around 8 p.m., while the bomb squad determined the prop was safe. The suspect, Robert Page, 42, was arrested shortly before 5 p.m. after witnesses in the 6600 block of Sunset Boulevard reported seeing him firing a shotgun from the apartment building. LAPD spokesman Richard French said a shotgun and handgun were recovered from the apartment, and that Page was allegedly firing at some nearby construction workers. No one was struck by the gunfire and no injuries were reported. The motive for the shooting is still under investigation. Page was charged with firing at an inhabited dwelling a felony, a felony, and is being held on $250,000 bail.
A KTLA news helicopter covering the story was forced to make an emergency landing in a parking lot near Franklin and Las Palmas avenues after smoke was seen billowing from the engine. The pilot, Tim Lynn, landed safely with his photographer, Jeff Laabs. Lynn, who has been with KTLA for the past three-and-a-half years and has been flying helicopters since 1985, said it was a “scary situation.” He added that the “adrenaline kicked in” and he was able to go through the appropriate safety procedures to set the helicopter on the ground. The engine problem was reportedly caused by a leaking hydraulic line, which was later repaired at the scene of the landing.
“My concern was to get on the ground without hurting anybody else,” said Lynn, who first considered setting the helicopter down on the field at Hollywood High School but averted the landing because people were at the location. “Usually there is no parking in Hollywood, so luckily I was able to find this spot.”
