WEST HOLLYWOOD—In the early morning of October 14, a man in his 20s was fatally shot outside of The Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood.
According to reports, the shooting occurred at around 12:49 a.m. Wednesday morning. The shooter was wearing a dark hoodie. He approached a group of people standing on The Comedy Store’s patio, shot the victim, and fled the scene. The shooter is still at large.
The victim was transported to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead. His identity has not been released to the public. According to witness reports, between 5 and 10 shots were fired. This shooting is the first homicide to occur in West Hollywood in an entire year.
At the time of the shooting, two shows were going on inside The Comedy Store: a Roast Battle and a standup show featuring 17 different comics including Ron White and Bobby Lee. A comedian named Justin Martindale who was inside the upstairs venue told the Los Angeles Times that he heard a noise “like firecrackers,” but allowed the show to continue because he didn’t know what was going on outside.
After the shooting, deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department let 10 people leave the club at a time. Sunset Boulevard was closed for several hours from N. Kings Road to N. La Cienega Boulevard while deputies interviewed witnesses and searched for evidence.
Detectives are consulting businesses in the area for security footage of the incident. The Sunset Strip, a popular nightlife destination frequented by locals and tourists alike, is known for having extensive security patrols. Detectives suspect that because of this, it may have been a targeted shooting rather than a random one.
The Comedy Store made the following statement on Twitter after the shooting: “We are shocked and saddened that something like this happened outside our venue and are doing everything possible to assist our employees, patrons and law enforcement to ensure we remain the safe and entertaining venue we have been over 4 decades.”
