Police are searching for the man who shot a driver accused of plowing his vehicle into a crowd outside an East Hollywood club in Los Angeles early Saturday.
Fernando Ramirez, 29, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with force likely to produce great bodily injury after he "intentionally" drove his car into a crowd of pedestrians gathered outside a venue at North Vermont Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard around 2 a.m. on Saturday, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
At least 37 people were injured as some were hit by the car and others were briefly trapped beneath it, officials said. The injuries ranged from minor pain to serious fractures and lacerations.
Ramirez had been fighting in the club and was kicked out, two LAPD sources told NBC Los Angeles. He allegedly returned to the club and resumed fighting. After he was thrown out by security, he got into his car and drove into the crowd, the sources said.
After driving the car into the crowd, the driver was pulled from the vehicle by bystanders and assaulted, authorities said. During the ordeal, a man shot the driver in the lower back and then fled.
Police have released photos of the shooting suspect and are asking for the public's help in identifying him.
The shooting suspect is described as a male Hispanic, 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-7, weighing 150 to 170 pounds, last seen wearing a blue Dodgers jacket, a light blue jersey with the number "5" and blue jeans. He has gauges in both ears and a goatee, as well.
Ramirez was hospitalized and taken into surgery. He was last described as being in stable condition.
Ramirez has an extensive criminal history and was on parole at the time of Saturday’s crash, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Ramirez was convicted of felony battery and sentenced in January 2020 for attacking a man outside a Laguna Beach Whole Foods in June 2019, LAPD Capt. Ben Fernandes confirmed.
It’s unclear whether his parole was in connection with the 2019 incident or another case.
Ramirez also has a pending DUI case, according to police records.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office said Ramirez's criminal history dates to 2014, including a felony charge for assault with a deadly weapon using force likely to produce greater bodily injury — the same charge he faces in Saturday’s crash.
