The North Hollywood Shootout: A Fearful Day in Los Angeles History

On February 28, 1997, two armed men broke into a Los Angeles Bank of America and attempted to flee with hundreds of thousands of dollars. As soon as they stepped outside the structure, police surrounded them.

The horrific North Hollywood firefight started when the robbers began firing their weapons rather than giving themselves up.

Because of their frequent thefts and robberies, Larry Phillips Jr., 26, and Emil Matasareanu, 30, were known to L.A. police as the "High Incidence Bandits," but law enforcement had never been able to apprehend them.

Background

Emil Matasareanu and Larry Phillips Jr. originally met at a Gold's Gym in Los Angeles. They grew close over their common passion for heist movies and for weightlifting.

In the end, the men decided to pull off their own heists, and in June 1995, they carried out their first heist. When people at the scene watched, Phillips and Matasareanu shot and murdered the guard of an armored Brinks vehicle outside of a bank. After escaping, they started preparing for their subsequent crimes.

They attempted to rob yet another Brinks truck at the beginning of 1996. They fired at the armored truck as they tracked it down, but their shots only bounced off. The men abandoned their van and set it on fire after realizing they were making no progress.

Phillips and Matasareanu robbed at least two additional banks over the next two years, planning their attacks for early mornings when they knew cash had recently been delivered. They planned their theft of the North Hollywood Bank of America using the same strategy, but things quickly went terribly wrong for them.

The Thieves and The North Hollywood Bank Of America

At 9:17 a.m. Larry Phillips Jr. and Emil Matasareanu came to the North Hollywood Bank of America on February 28, 1997. They synchronized their watches and took medications to ease their anxiety before entering the structure.

The men were equipped with ski masks, body armor, and automatic rifles.

Phillips and Matasareanu instructed everyone inside the bank to get on the ground before blowing the vault doors open. When they entered, however, they discovered that the day's cash had not yet been delivered.

The men had anticipated that there will be at least $750,000 in the vault, but there was only about $300,000. Matasareanu became outraged at the sudden change of plans and opened fire, shredding the remaining cash inside the vault.

Phillips and Matasareanu had to wait longer than they had planned because of the difficulties. When they came out of the Bank of America, police officers were already waiting for them. The men didn't give up, though. Instead, they stuck to their plan and decided to fight back, no matter what.

The Shootout

Even though the L.A.P.D. had more officers, Larry Phillips Jr. and Emil Matasareanu had better weapons and wore so much body armor that it was almost impossible for them to be wounded.

They had more than 3,300 rounds of ammunition with them as well. Since they had the upper hand, the robbers opened fire and tried to shoot their way out.

When some of the police officers saw how bad things were, they ran to a nearby gun store. The owner gave them 4,000 rounds of ammunition and six semi-automatic rifles and two semi-automatic handguns so they could fight back.

The plan appeared to be working. Phillips and Matasareanu broke up at 9:52 a.m. Phillips hid behind a truck so he could keep shooting at the police, but his gun stopped working. He pulled out his backup gun, but a police officer shot him in the hand. In the face of loss, Larry Phillips Jr. chose to end his life with his Beretta.

Matasareanu tried to get away by taking a Jeep from a bystander. The Jeep's owner thought quickly and took the keys with him when he left the car, leaving Matasareanu stranded. Instead, the robber hid behind the Jeep and kept shooting at the police officers who had surrounded him.

The police got on their knees and started shooting at Matasareanu's legs, which weren't protected. After the bullet hit him a total of 29 times, he tried to surrender. Emil Matasareanu had lost too much blood by then, though that he died on the ground while he was in handcuffs.

The North Hollywood shootout was over 44 minutes after it had begun.

19 of the L.A.P.D officers received Medals of Valor and were invited to meet President Bill Clinton.