Police in Calabasas shot and killed a machete-wielding man after he ran into a restaurant frequented by A-listers such as Kim Kardashian and Will Smith on Wednesday night.
Officers were called to the scene of an assault close to Sagebrush Cantina around 7:30pm, upon arrival, the cops saw the suspect, a white male in his 50s, running into the restaurant armed with a knife in one hand and a broken bottle in the other.
When the perp got to the parking lot, he was tasered twice by LAPD officers. That failed to stop him and he continued into the patio-area of the restaurant, that’s when cops opened fire, hitting him multiple times, witnesses said.
The suspect was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. The restaurant is located in the Old Town section of the celebrity enclave of Calabasas.
A police statement said that the suspect dropped one machete and was armed with another when he headed for Sagebrush Cantina
Local media broadcasted pictures showed the mass police response around the restaurant
Kris Jenner, Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson pictured outside Sagebrush Cantina following a family lunch in 2022
Local media footage showed crime scene tape surrounding restaurant, better known for hosting celebrities rather than police detectives. The Mexican eatery is known to Kylie Jenner’s favorite.
In the summer of 2022, Khloe Kardashian was pictured leaving the restaurant with the cheating father of her child, Tristan Thompson. It’s also a regular haunt of Will Smith and his former wife, Jada Pinkett.
Shortly after quitting The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Denise Richards picked the restaurant to party at.
The restaurant, which opened in 1974, is also known for live music and was hosting an open mic night at the time of the shooting. In a Facebook post less than 24 hours after the shooting, the restaurant confirmed that it was open for business.
The incident involving the suspect began outside of a McDonald’s in the area. The suspect dropped another knife used in that altercation outside of the fast food restaurant.
Pictures broadcasted by ABC Los Angeles showed a man with wounds to his leg talking with investigators. That man was able to disarm the assailant of one of the knives.
‘I was in my truck and all of a sudden I see LAPD police cars come in and they said through their loudspeaker, “Everybody get inside, lock your doors!,”‘ witness Larry Rifkin told KTLA.
‘They were chasing somebody and I believe somebody ran across the parking lot. Then I heard gunshots as I was transitioning inside to the restaurant,’ he added.
‘It’s insane. Calabasas is known for being safe. Recently things have been getting out of hand,’ another witness, Alexia Cardenas, told ABC.
No one else in the Sagebrush Cantina was injured during the episode nor were any officers.
The restaurant, which opened in 1974, is also known for live music and was hosting an open mic night at the time of the shooting
‘It’s insane. Calabasas is known for being safe. Recently things have been getting out of hand,’ witness, Alexia Cardenas, told ABC
Several cities have experimented with having civilian emergency workers respond to mental health calls, rather than armed police.
Many police departments now train officers that the safest thing to do in some situations is to back off, contain and isolate a person experiencing a mental health crisis — even if they have a weapon — as long as it is likely they only pose a threat to themselves.
Some departments have changed their approach to certain calls after the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
In 2022, Los Angeles police shot and killed 14 people — 60 percent of everyone who was struck by officers’ bullets, according to a report released in April.
LAPD officers opened fire 31 times last year, striking 23 people and missing their target in eight other situations, the department’s annual Use of Force report shows.
The statistics show decreases in police shootings since 2021, when officers fired their weapons 37 times. In 2021, 31 people were struck, and 17 of those were killed.
In eight of the 31 events of 2022, the person opened fire at the officers or bystanders, according to the report.
The suspect had a gun in 10 other situations but did not shoot. In five instances, officers believed the person had a gun but none was ultimately found.
Officers also opened fire eight times when the suspect had a weapon other than a gun, the report said.
Although the agency is routinely criticized for its violence, figures from the last five years show that police shootings are significantly down from the early-to-mid 1990s. Officers opened fire 115 times in 1990, and 108 times in 1992 before decreasing later in the decade.
But Los Angeles police fatally shot more people in 2021 and 2022 — 17 and 14 people respectively — than comparable law enforcement agencies, including the New York Police Department and the Chicago Police Department.