A deadly shootout erupted in an exclusive neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills early Friday morning in what might have been an attempted robbery of a multi-million dollar home, according to multiple reports.
It is the latest shooting incident in what has been a dramatic surge in violent crime across Los Angeles, which recently voted to defund its police department.
TMZ reported there is at least one dead and three injured after gunfire erupted just off the Sunset Strip at a home on Blue Jay Way. Three men reportedly drove up to the house in an Audi and opened fire. A security guard was shot but returned fire and struck two of the suspects, killing one of them.
The Audi then fled down Blue Jay with a flat tire before LAPD pulled the vehicle over near Beverly Hills.
Three people were found inside of the car, two of whom suffered from gunshot wounds, according to The Sun. One of them was dead and the other was rushed to hospital in critical condition. The third individual was uninjured.
The security guard was later found with a bullet wound to the stomach and was taken to a hospital.
Reports said the shootout took place around 2 a.m. Friday, with multiple 911 calls being placed. It remains unclear why the three men opened fire and what they were planning to do.
The dramatic shootout comes as Los Angeles continues to see a spike in crime after the Democrat-controlled city defunded its police force to the tune of $150 million last year in a move to appease the Black Lives Matter movement.
LAPD recently revealed the city has experienced a whopping 50 percent increase in shooting victims this year compared to the same point last year. Violent crime has increased by 4.3 percent over the same period.
L.A. County District Attorney George Gascon (D), who took office in December, has laid out a lenient attitude toward prosecuting crime, which some believe has encouraged more violence across the county.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
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