North Hollywood shootout

A Norinco Type 56 rifle

On the morning of February 28, 1997, after months of preparation, including extensive reconnoitering of their intended target – the Bank of America branch located at 6600 Laurel Canyon Boulevard – Phillips and Mătăsăreanu armed themselves with a semi automatic HK-91 and several illegally converted weapons: two Norinco Type 56 S rifles, a fully automatic Norinco Type 56 S-1, and a fully automatic Bushmaster XM15 Dissipator.[17]

The robbers filled a jam jar with gasoline and placed it in the back seat with the intention of setting the car and weapons on fire to destroy evidence after the robbery. Phillips wore roughly 40 pounds (18 kg) of equipment, including a Type IIIA bulletproof vest and groin guard; a load bearing vest with multiple military canteen pouches for ammunition storage; and several pieces of homemade body armor created from spare vests, covering his shins, thighs, and forearms.[18] Mătăsăreanu wore only a Type IIIA bulletproof vest, but included a metal trauma plate to protect vital organs. Additionally, each man had a watch sewn onto the back of one glove, in order to monitor their timing.[19] Before entering, they took the barbiturate phenobarbital, prescribed to Mătăsăreanu as a sedative, to calm their nerves.[20]

Phillips and Mătăsăreanu, driving a white 1987 Chevrolet Celebrity, arrived at the Bank of America branch at the intersection of Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Archwood Street in North Hollywood around 9:17 am, and set their watch alarms for eight minutes, the police response time they had estimated. To come up with this timeframe, Phillips had used a radio scanner to monitor police transmissions prior to the robbery.[20] As the two were walking in, they were spotted by two LAPD officers, Loren Farrell and Martin Perello, who were driving down Laurel Canyon in a patrol car. Officer Perello issued a call on the radio: "15-A-43, requesting assistance, we have a possible 211 in progress at the Bank of America." 211 is the code for robbery.[21]

As they entered the bank, each armed with a Norinco Type 56 S-1 rifle, Phillips and Mătăsăreanu forced a customer leaving the ATM lobby near the entrance into the bank and onto the floor. A security guard inside saw the scuffle and the heavily armed robbers and radioed his partner in the parking lot to call the police; the call was not received. Phillips shouted, "This is a fucking hold up!"[22] before he and Mătăsăreanu opened fire into the ceiling in an attempt to scare the approximately thirty bank staff and customers[5] and to discourage resistance.[23] Phillips shot open the bulletproof door (which was designed to resist only low-velocity rounds) and gained access to the tellers and vault. The robbers forced assistant manager John Villigrana to open the vault. Villigrana obliged and began to fill the robbers' money bag. However, due to a change in the bank's delivery schedule, the vault contained significantly less than the $750,000 the gunmen had expected. Phillips, enraged at this development, argued with Villigrana and demanded more. In an apparent show of frustration, Phillips then fired a full drum magazine of 75 rounds into the bank's safe, destroying much of the remaining money. Phillips then attempted to open the bank's ATM, but due to a change in policies, the branch manager no longer had access to the money inside. Before leaving, the robbers locked the hostages in the bank vault. In the end, the two left with $303,305 and three dye packs which later exploded, ruining the money they stole.[16]

Map of the area around the Bank of America and events during the shoot-out.

Outside, the first-responding officers heard gunfire from the bank and made another radio call for additional units before taking cover behind their patrol car, weapons trained on the bank doors. While the robbers were still inside, more patrol and detective units arrived and took strategic positions at all four corners of the bank, effectively surrounding it. At approximately 9:24 am, Phillips exited through the north doorway and after spotting a police cruiser 200 ft (60 m) away, opened fire for several minutes, wounding seven officers and three other civilians. He also fired at an LAPD helicopter flown by Charles D. Perriguey Jr. which was surveying above, forcing it to withdraw to a safer distance. He briefly retreated inside, then reemerged through the north doorway, while Mătăsăreanu exited through the south exit.[24]

Phillips and Mătăsăreanu began to engage the officers, firing sporadic bursts into the patrol cars that had been positioned on Laurel Canyon in front of the bank.[17] Officers, armed with standard Beretta 92F, Beretta 92FS 9mm pistols, Smith & Wesson Model 15 .38 caliber revolvers, and a 12-gauge Ithaca Model 37 pump-action shotgun, immediately returned fire. The officers' weaponry could not penetrate the body armor worn by Phillips and Mătăsăreanu, and most of the LAPD officers' service pistols had insufficient range and poor accuracy at long distances.[16] An officer was heard on the LAPD police frequency approximately 10 – 15 minutes into the shootout, warning other officers that they should "not stop [the getaway vehicle], they've got automatic weapons, there's nothing we have that can stop them."[25] Additionally, the officers were pinned down by the heavy spray of gunfire coming from the robbers, making it difficult to attempt a head shot. Several officers acquired five AR-15 style rifles from a nearby gun store to combat the robbers.[26][27][28][29]

Two locations adjacent to the north parking lot provided good cover for officers and detectives. Police likely shot Phillips and his rifle with their handguns while Phillips was still firing and taking cover near the four vehicles adjacent to the North wall of the bank (gray Honda Civic, Ford Explorer, white Acura Legend, and Chevrolet Celebrity). One location that Officer Zielenski of Valley Traffic Division used for cover was the Del Taco restaurant West wall, 351 feet from Phillips. Officer Zielenski fired 86 9mm rounds at Phillips and may have hit Phillips at least once. The other location that proved advantageous for the LAPD was the back yard of 6641 Agnes Avenue. A cinder block wall provided cover for detectives who shot at and may have struck Phillips with 9mm rounds from their pistols. Detective Bancroft fired 17 rounds and Detective Harley fired between 15 and 24 rounds at Phillips from a distance of approximately 55 feet. After Mătăsăreanu backed the Chevrolet Celebrity out of the handicapped space in the North parking lot, Phillips received a gunshot wound to his left wrist, based upon helicopter news footage that showed him react to pain.[30] At the same approximate time, LAPD gunfire struck the Heckler & Koch rifle that Phillips was firing, rendering it inoperable. LAPD injured Phillips by holding two places of cover, and prevented an easy getaway.[31]

After LAPD radio operators received the second "officer down" call from police at the shootout, a tactical alert was issued. The SWAT team (Donnie Anderson, Steve Gomez, Peter Weireter, and Richard Massa) arrived 18 minutes after the shooting had begun. They were armed with AR-15s, and wore running shoes and shorts under their body armor, as they had been on an exercise run when they received the call. Upon arrival, they commandeered a nearby armored truck, which was used to extract wounded civilians and officers from the scene.[16]

An HK-91 rifle

While still in the parking lot, Mătăsăreanu was shot three times in the right buttock, the right leg, and the left forearm, forcing him to abandon his duffel bag of money, enter the getaway vehicle, and start the engine. Phillips retrieved the HK-91 from the open trunk and continued firing upon officers while walking alongside the sedan, using it for cover. As Phillips approached the passenger's side of the getaway vehicle, he was hit in the shoulder and his rifle was struck in the receiver and magazine by bullets fired by police. After firing a few more shots with one arm, Phillips discarded the HK-91 and retrieved the Norinco Type 56 before exiting the parking lot and retreating onto the street while Mătăsăreanu drove down the road.[16]

At 9:52 am, Phillips turned east on Archwood Street and took cover behind a parked semi-truck where he continued to fire at the police (Lt. Michael Ranshaw, Officers Conrado Torrez, John Caprarelli, and Ed Brentlinger) until his rifle jammed.[32] Unable to clear the jam, he dropped the rifle and drew a Beretta 92FS pistol, which he began firing. He was then shot in the right hand by Officer Conrado Torrez, causing him to drop the pistol. After retrieving it, he placed the muzzle under his chin and fired; he was simultaneously shot by a bullet fired by Officer John Caprarelli that severed his spine. Officers across the street continued to shoot Phillips' body several times while he was on the ground. After the firing had stopped, officers in the area surrounded Phillips, handcuffed him, and removed his ski mask.

Mătăsăreanu's vehicle was rendered inoperable after two of its tires were shot out and the windshield covered in bullet holes.[16] At 9:56 am, he attempted to carjack a yellow 1963 Jeep Gladiator on Archwood by shooting at the driver, who fled on foot, three blocks east of where Phillips died. He quickly transferred all of his weapons and ammunition from the getaway car, but was unable to operate the Jeep due to the driver engaging the electrical kill switch before fleeing. As KCBS and KCAL helicopters hovered overhead, a patrol car driven by SWAT officers Donnie Anderson, Steve Gomez, and Richard Massa quickly arrived and stopped on the opposite side of the truck to where the Chevrolet was stopped. Mătăsăreanu left the truck, took cover behind the original getaway car, and engaged them in a two-and-a-half minutes of almost uninterrupted gunfire. Mătăsăreanu's chest armor deflected a double tap from SWAT officer Anderson, which briefly winded him before he continued firing. Anderson fired his AR-15 below the cars and wounded Mătăsăreanu in his unprotected lower legs; he was soon unable to continue and put his hands up to show surrender.[16]

Seconds after Mătăsăreanu's capitulation, officers rushed him to pin him down. As he was being cuffed, SWAT officers asked for his name, to which he replied "Pete". When asked if there were any more suspects, he reportedly said, "Fuck you! Shoot me in the head!".[33] Ambulance personnel were following standard procedure in hostile situations by refusing to enter "the hot zone", as Mătăsăreanu was still considered to be dangerous,[16] and because there were still reports or the belief that there was a third gunman still loose. Some reports indicate that he was lying on the ground with no weapons for approximately an hour before ambulances arrived, and was groaning in pain and pleading for help.[34] The police radioed for an ambulance, but Mătăsăreanu, loudly swearing profusely and still goading the police to shoot him, died before the ambulance and EMTs were allowed to reach the scene almost 70 minutes later. Later reports showed that Mătăsăreanu was shot 29 times in the legs and died from trauma due to excessive blood loss coming from two gunshot wounds in his left thigh.[35]

Most of the incident, including the death of Phillips and surrender of Mătăsăreanu, was broadcast live by news helicopters, which hovered over the scene and televised the action as events unfolded.[17][36] Over 300 law enforcement officers from various forces had responded to the citywide TAC alert.[37] By the time the shooting had stopped, Phillips and Mătăsăreanu had fired about 1,100 rounds, approximately a round every two seconds.[16]

An inventory of the weapons used:[7]

• A Bushmaster XM-15 converted illegally to fire full auto with two 100-round Beta Magazines
• A Heckler & Koch HK-91 semi automatic rifle with several 30-round magazines[38]
• A Beretta 92FS Inox with several magazines
• Three different civilian-model Kalashnikov style rifles converted illegally to fire full auto with several 75- to 100-round drum magazines, as well as 30-round box magazines.

It was speculated during news reports that Phillips had legally purchased two of the AK-47s and then illegally converted them to full automatic. However, as Phillips was a convicted felon it was not possible for him to legally purchase firearms.[16][39][40]

The two well-armored men had fired approximately 1,100 rounds, while approximately 650 rounds were fired by police.[5] Following their training, the responding patrol officers directed their fire at the "center of mass", or torsos, of Mătăsăreanu and Phillips. However, aramid body armor worn by Phillips and Mătăsăreanu covered all of their vitals (except their heads), enabling them to absorb pistol bullets and shotgun pellets, while Mătăsăreanu's chest armor, thanks to a metal trauma plate, successfully withstood a hit from a SWAT officer's AR-15. The service pistols carried by the first responding officers were of insufficient power and used the wrong type of ammunition for penetrating even pistol rated soft body armor. Furthermore the police were pinned down by fully automatic suppressive fire, making it difficult for them to execute the type of well aimed return fire that would be required to attempt head shots. Phillips was shot 11 times, including his self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chin while Mătăsăreanu was shot 29 times.

Twelve police officers and eight civilians were injured in the shootout.

• Sergeant Larry "Dean" Haynes was hit in the left shoulder
• Officer Martin Whitfield was shot and seriously wounded four times in the left arm, right femur and chest
• Officer Conrado Torrez was grazed in the right side of the neck
• Officer James Zboravan was shot twice and seriously wounded in the lower back, hip and thigh
• Detective William "John" Krulac was hit in the right ankle
• Detective Tracey Angeles was grazed in the stomach and buttock
• Officer Stuart Guy was hit twice in the right femur and right forearm
• Detective Earl Valladares was hit in the head by flying debris
• Officer Ed Brentlinger was hit by gunfire and by concrete fragments on his face and left forearm
• Officer William Lantz was hit in the right knee
• Officer John Goodman was hit by flying glass and shrapnel
• Officer David Grimes was injured in a traffic accident

• Mildred Nolte was struck across the face
• John Villigrana was struck across the head by the stock of an assault rifle
• Javier Orozco was struck across the face
• Barry Golding was hit by flying glass and shrapnel
• Tracy Fisher was hit in the left ankle
• Michael Horen was hit in the left side of the chest
• Jose Haro was hit by flying glass and shrapnel
• William "Bill" Marr was hit by glass and shrapnel fragments in the right arm, left temple and nose