Steph Deschamps / August 15, 2025
Police consider it an “intentional act”. A 29-year-old man accused of injuring 30 people when he drove his car into a group gathered outside a Los Angeles nightclub in the United States was charged Saturday with intentional assault with a weapon, police said Saturday.
The driver has been identified by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) as Fernando Ramirez, 29, and is in stable condition in hospital, where he has undergone surgery.
According to US media reports, he had been refused entry to the East Hollywood nightclub just prior to the incident. A review of video footage established that it was “an intentional act”, said LAPD Captain Ben Fernandes, quoted by the Los Angeles Times.
The alleged attack took place at around 2am on Saturday. Videos posted on social networks showed panicked people running in all directions, victims sprawled on a blood-stained sidewalk and others weeping nearby. According to other images, the driver was pulled from the vehicle and beaten by the crowd.
“When officers arrived, they found the driver being assaulted by bystanders and found that he had sustained a gunshot wound,” police said in a statement. The suspect is being actively sought by the LAPD.
“We have 30 victims, 18 women and 12 men in their 20s and early 30s,” said LAPD Commander Lillian Carranza. According to authorities, seven of the injured are in critical condition and six in serious condition.
A group of people were lining up to enter the nightclub, near a truck selling tacos and valet parking, when the car rammed into them, Los Angeles Fire Chief Adam VanGerpen told ABC News.
“This is a heartbreaking tragedy (...) The hearts of the people of Los Angeles are with all the victims affected this morning - a full investigation into what happened is underway,” said the mayor of the second-largest city in the United States, Karen Bass, in a statement.