LA nightclub car ramming: Driver charged with 37 counts of attempted murder
Fernando Ramirez, 29, has been charged with 37 counts of attempted murder and 37 counts of assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly ramming his vehicle into a crowd outside a Los Angeles nightclub over the weekend. If convicted, Ramirez faces multiple life sentences.
The incident occurred early Saturday morning outside the Vermont Hollywood venue, where partygoers were leaving a reggae and hip-hop event. Prosecutors say Ramirez intentionally drove his car onto the sidewalk, targeting a crowd of pedestrians waiting to enter the club. The attack injured 37 people, with victims suffering injuries ranging from minor abrasions to serious fractures and lacerations, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman described the act as “brazen,” stating, “When he drove that car onto that sidewalk, he aimed it at a whole sea of pedestrians.” Ramirez’s vehicle eventually stopped after colliding with several food carts, which became lodged underneath it. Bystanders then confronted and assaulted Ramirez.
Ramirez himself was shot during the altercation and was hospitalized; his condition remains unknown. Police are actively searching for the suspect who fired the shot and fled the scene on foot.
Of the injured, 23 were transported to local hospitals. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell called it “truly a miracle that no one was killed that day.”
Ramirez’s criminal history includes a 2014 battery and gang-related charge, a 2019 aggravated battery conviction for attacking a Black man in Laguna Beach, and a 2021 domestic violence charge. At the time of the nightclub incident, Ramirez also faced pending charges related to a 2024 DUI case and a 2022 domestic violence accusation.
Currently held without bail, Ramirez is scheduled for arraignment on Wednesday. The public defender’s office has not yet been assigned to represent him.
Authorities continue to investigate the motive behind the attack.
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