1 dead, 4 injured after robbery attempt in Hollywood Hills erupts in gunbattle

LOS ANGELES — A robbery early Friday in a wealthy Hollywood Hills neighborhood turned into a shootout that killed one suspect and wounded three victims and another suspect, Los Angeles police said.

The shooting was reported around 2 a.m. on Blue Jay Way, said Officer Jeffrey Lee, a police headquarters spokesperson. The street made famous by a 1967 Beatles song is in a neighborhood with narrow winding streets lined with multimillion-dollar homes.

Two men were outside a home when they were approached by two men wearing ski masks, Detective Meghan Aguilar said. The masked men made the victims lie down on the ground before stealing watches and jewelry from them.

A security guard came out of a home, and gunfire was exchanged, Aguilar said. She said the shots hit the guard, the two victims on the ground and the two robbers, who fled in a car with a waiting getaway driver.

Police stopped the car at an intersection on the border of Beverly Hills. One suspect was pronounced dead there and another was taken to a hospital in stable condition. 

The third suspect was taken into custody without incident, and a gun was found in the car, a police statement said. 

The security guard was hospitalized in critical condition, and the other two victims were in stable condition, Lee said.

Police have not identified any of the people involved.

Police said detectives were investigating whether the robbery is related to other robberies in Hollywood.