Weekend Gun Violence at the Standard Hotel Downtown Leaves One Dead, Three Injured

A terrible scene unfolded over the weekend in Downtown Los Angeles as four people were shot at the Standard Hotel on Flower Street.

According to the LA Times, the sudden burst of gunfire erupted in the wee hours of Sunday morning, allegedly following a guest list dispute for a party on Saturday night. The shooting left one person dead, another likely paralyzed, and two more victims sent to the hospital.

Police are hesitant to confirm a motive (or suspects) at this time, but several witnesses on site described a fight that broke out in the lobby prior to the violence. Shortly thereafter, gunfire rang out near the elevators and spilled out onto the sidewalk out front, shattering glass and leaving four victims, none of whom have been publicly identified at this time. The next morning, a nearby parking attendant found a discarded handgun in an adjacent lot, reports the Times.

The violence inside the Standard over the weekend has some reflecting on the still rapidly-changing Downtown neighborhood overall. Police have been saying for some time that violent crime is up in the area (more than 55% compared to last year, says one report), due in part to a crime reclassification effort by the police.

Despite opening in 2002 and seeing much of the transformation in Downtown over the past decade or so, there have been relatively few incidences of violence at and around the dining and nightlife destination.