An angry crowd threw rocks and set fires on Hollywood Boulevard and police in riot gear fired bean bags late Wednesday after people were turned away from an invitation-only party and screening of a movie about a popular rave festival.
The famous street was closed by police until they managed to stop the disturbance.
The screening of "Electric Daisy Carnival Experience" at Grauman's Chinese Theater was scheduled to coincide with a "block party" promoted by DJ Kaskade, a favorite among fans of electronic dance music or EDM, who encouraged his fans to join the festivities in a Tweet sent earlier in the day.
The Tweet read: Today@6pm in Hollywood @Mann's Chinese Theatre. ME+BIG SPEAKERS+MUSIC=BLOCK PARTY!!! RT!
Patrol cars vandalized
But when a crowd estimated at more than a thousand converged, the gathering near Hollywood and Highland turned violent, with some members of the crowd throwing rocks and bottles and vandalizing patrol cars, according to a spokesman with the Los Angeles Police Department.
A police car was set on fire, according to multiple news reports.
The LAPD shut down Hollywood Boulevard to traffic and essentially forced businesses along the popular tourist stretch to bar their doors, keeping customers penned inside.
The Metro Red Line station at Hollywood and Highland was shuttered, and buses were re-routed to steer clear of the area.
DJ Kaskade sent out multiple Tweets, calling for calm and entreating the crowd to disperse.
"EVERYONE NEEDS TO GO HOME NOW! I DON'T WANT THIS TO REFLECT BADLY ON EDM OR WHAT WE ARE ABOUT," he tweeted. "BE RESPECTFUL AND CHILL OUT!!"
