Riot in Hollywood, 12 Arrested

12 young people were arrested in Hollywood on Tuesday night (July 16, 2013) after robbing stores,

assaulting bystanders and vandalizing property. None of the individuals arrested lived in Hollywood and

they may have planned the riot over social media. 11 of the arrests were juveniles, and 11 of the

individuals were under the age of 18; 1 was arrested for receiving stolen property and 11 were arrested

on suspicion of robbery. Police do not believe the young people were protesting George Zimmerman’s

acquittal.

Police began receiving calls at 8:30 pm on Tuesday that a group of approximately 30 young people

started rioting on Hollywood Boulevard and made their way to Highland Avenue. Police believe some of

the individuals rioted all the way to Santa Monica Boulevard. Surveillance video shows the group rioting

on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Lieutenant Ray Valois described young people “attacking victims and taking property.” He also said,

“Some people may have been knocked down or punched.” Various individuals reported to the media

that they were approached by a large group of young people who demanded their valuables, including

phones and watches. Valois added that he did not believe the group was there in protest of the acquittal

of George Zimmerman on Saturday, July 13. Valois said, “None of these individuals was protesting, there

was no physical evidence of that. They may be acting out.”

Lori Acves shared an account of how her iPhone was taken. She said, “I was filming celebrities, and all of

the sudden I was approached by this group of people. One of them got my phone. This lady next to me –

I have no idea who she is – but she grabbed me by the arm and tucked me in, and moved me to a

different store.” Acves’ phone was later found with other stolen property and was returned.

In addition to mugging people on Hollywood Boulevard, the rioters were vandalizing stores and stealing

property from stores along the street. One store employee described a confrontation between him and

rioters. John Kim was working at a store when he said, “It was just this group of kids, like 30 of them,

who came down the boulevard. They were just vandalizing stores and looting stores. They just knocked

over our gum ball machine, took our shirts, knocked over our postcards. They grabbed as much as they

could.” Kim then attempted to chase the youth to recover the store’s property. One of the rioters

assaulted Kim and four of the rioters were ready to fight him.

The Los Angeles Police Department responded to the riot with over 100 officers who performed a police

sweep for at least an hour. No one has reported being seriously injured during the event.

Another riot occurred the night before in the Crenshaw District. That night, 14 people were arrested

after a group of 150 rioters broke off from a peaceful protest event. The 150 jumped on cars, ran

throughout the streets, assaulted onlookers and tried to break into stores. They also vandalized a Wal-

Mart.