North Hollywood Shootout

These pictures are mainly for me. They aren’t particularily interesting without the back story, and the back story might be a little weird. When I was younger I often stumbled upon subjects that I would end up learning a lot about. For example, for some reason, I learned a ton about D.B. Cooper when I was younger. I probably saw a half dozen documentaries or other TV shows about him and his heist. I couldn’t be called an actual expert, but maybe a “casual expert.”

Another topic that I happened to learn a lot about was the North Hollywood shootout. In 1997 two people armed with assault rifles and full body armor robbed a bank in North Hollywood. When they exited the bank, dozens of LAPD officers were waiting and a shootout ensued. The police were severely outgunned and even resorted to going to a local gun shop to commandeer heavier artillery. Eventually the robbers were stopped, but not before a huge gunfight in the streets. It was really quite an exciting story, and much was caught on camera from helicopters.

I had seen a number of documentaries about this in the late 90’s so one morning when I decided to go to visit Hollywood, I realized that I really needed to stop by that bank. It took just a little googling on my phone, but I found it and stopped by to snap a few pictures.

Anymore anyone can be a casual expert on anything, thanks to the internet and websites like Wikipedia. I feel like it was more of an accomplishment in the old days.