A subsequent search of their vehicle – after Phillips surrendered with a concealed weapon – found two semi-automatic rifles, two handguns, more than 1,600 rounds of 7.62×39mm rifle ammunition, 1,200 rounds of 9×19mm Parabellum and. On October 29, they were arrested in Glendale, northeast of Los Angeles, for operating a stolen vehicle. On July 20, 1993, Phillips and Mătăsăreanu robbed an armored car outside a branch of FirstBank in Littleton, Colorado. Mătăsăreanu was a qualified electrical engineer and ran a relatively unsuccessful computer repair business. Before meeting, Phillips was a habitual offender, responsible for multiple real estate scams and counts of shoplifting. Phillips (5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and 193 pounds (88 kg)) and Mătăsăreanu (6 feet (1.8 m) tall and 330 pounds (150 kg)) had mutual interests in weightlifting, bodybuilding, and firearms. (Septem– February 28, 1997) and the Romanian-born Decebal Ștefan Emilian "Emil" Mătăsăreanu (J– February 28, 1997) first met at a Gold's Gym in Venice, Los Angeles, California, in 1989. Another estimate is that a total of nearly 2,000 rounds were fired collectively. Combined, the two men had fired approximately 1,100 rounds in total, while approximately 650 rounds were fired by police. ĭue to the large number of injuries and rounds fired, equipment used by the robbers, and overall length of the shootout, it is regarded as one of the most intense and significant gun battles in U.S.
The incident sparked debate on the need for patrol officers to upgrade their firepower in preparation for similar situations in the future. Several officers additionally equipped themselves with AR-15s and other semi-automatic rifles from a nearby firearms dealer. The SWAT team also commandeered an armored car to evacuate the wounded. A law enforcement SWAT team eventually arrived with higher-caliber weapons, but they had little effect on the heavy body armor used by the two perpetrators. The robbers wore homemade body armor which successfully protected them from handgun rounds and shotgun pellets fired by the responding officers.
Phillips and Mătăsăreanu carried Norinco Type 56 rifles (a Chinese AK-47 variant), a Bushmaster XM-15 Dissipator with a 100-round drum magazine, and a Heckler & Koch HK91 rifle, all of which, except for the HK91, had been illegally modified to be select-fire capable, as well as a Beretta 92FS pistol. 38 Special revolvers some patrol cars were also equipped with a 12-gauge shotgun. Standard issue sidearms carried by most local patrol officers at the time were 9mm pistols or. They were also suspects in two armored car robberies. Phillips and Mătăsăreanu had robbed at least two other banks using similar methods for entry past "bullet-proof" security doors, taking control of the entire bank, and firing weapons illegally modified to enable fully- automatic fire. The shootout continued onto a residential street adjacent to the bank until Phillips, mortally wounded, succumbed to a self-inflicted gunshot wound Mătăsăreanu was incapacitated by officers three blocks away and subsequently bled to death before the arrival of paramedics more than an hour later. The robbers attempted to flee the scene, Phillips on foot and Mătăsăreanu in their getaway vehicle, while continuing to exchange fire with the officers. The two robbers were confronted by LAPD officers when they exited the bank and a shootout between the officers and robbers ensued.
Īt 9:16 a.m., Phillips and Mătăsăreanu entered and robbed Bank of America's North Hollywood branch. Both robbers were killed, twelve police officers and eight civilians were injured, and numerous vehicles and other property were damaged or destroyed by the nearly 2,000 rounds of ammunition fired by the robbers and police. and Emil Mătăsăreanu, and members of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in the North Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, United States on February 28, 1997. The North Hollywood shootout was a confrontation between two heavily armed and armored bank robbers, Larry Phillips Jr.
Mătăsăreanu: Bushmaster XM-15 E2S Dissipator, Norinco Type 56 S Phillips: Norinco Type 56 S, Norinco Type 56 S-1, Heckler & Koch HK91, Beretta 92FS