Gunfire, Bullhorns Have Area on Edge

It's been noisier than usual these past few days near Echo Park.

First, Echo Park Patch r The good news is Rampart Division watch commander Wes Buhrmester reported that records show no other calls on the incident, so no further investigation is being done.

Then, early Monday morning, some residents heard a male voice booming through a bullhorn as a helicopter hovered near the back edge of Silver Lake near Bellevue Park. Lieutenant Buhrmester checked in on The EastsiderLA site about that one. Here's part of his posting:

"At 1:10 a.m., officers received a call of an assault with a deadly weapon in the 900 block of Hyperion Avenue. A citizen reported that his neighbor, Pedro Casarez, 29, living in the same building, was playing his music loudly, so he knocked on his door and asked that the music be turned down. An argument started, culminating with Casarez allegedly pointing a shotgun at him. He retreated to his unit and phoned the police.

"Officers arrived and attempted to contact Casarez.  [Ed.: Police called out to Casarez through bullhorns, which could be heard throughout the neighborhood.] The helicopter was overhead also. Numerous attempts were made knocking at the door, but no response was obtained. The lead officer obtained Casarez’s phone number, and was able to speak with him by phone. Casarez and one other resident [Ed: a female] exited, and were detained.

Casarez was placed under citizen’s arrest for brandishing a firearm, and later booked for a misdemeanor. Police looked for the shotgun, but none was found."

Later on Monday, we got both guns and gunfire near downtown Echo Park, but they were all show. The screeching tires and gunfight along Park Avenue near Logan Street were a location shoot, for TV's NCIS: Los Angeles, according to the L.A.P.D Rampart division desk, which got a lot of calls about the commotion Monday afternoon. The L.A. film office schedules the shoots, but coordinates closely with local police so they can answer questions like these. 

In the midst of it all, the search for the with stories running Monday on local television about the bandit and the search to find him.  He hasn't struck since hitting the Echo Park Bank of America on March 19, but we'll keep you posted if he does.