Police say a massive crowd that became unruly outside a Hollywood film premiere has largely dispersed and a stretch of Hollywood Boulevard that had been closed has reopened to traffic.
Los Angeles police Officer Karen Rayner says two people were arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism and three police vehicles were damaged, but no injuries were reported.
Rayner says officers were called to Grauman's Chinese Theatre around 5:40 p.m. after several hundred people, angry about a canceled event, "took over the streets." She says the crowd began throwing rocks and bottles and refused orders to leave. The crowd began to disperse shortly before 10 p.m.
The chaos erupted outside the premiere of a documentary about the Electric Daisy Carnival rave.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Police clashed with a crowd that threw bottles and vandalized cars outside a Hollywood film premiere Wednesday evening.
Officers were called to Grauman's Chinese Theatre around 5:40 p.m. after several hundred people, angry about a canceled event, "took over the streets," Officer Karen Rayner said. The officers tried to control the crowd, but people refused orders to leave and began throwing objects, she said.
"All resources are there, including officers in riot gear, horses, we're using what we need to take care of the situation," Rayner said.
She had no immediate details on any arrest or injury.
The disturbance forced the shutdown of a section of Hollywood Boulevard and the closure of a subway station under the famous theater and the next-door Hollywood & Highland entertainment complex.
Capt. Andy Smith told the Los Angeles Times the disturbance began when fans who tried to attend the film premiere about the Electric Daisy Carnival rave were turned away. Smith said the premiere was by invitation only, but many who learned about it over the Internet tried to crash the event.
The rave was the focus of controversy in Los Angeles after a 15-year-old girl died of a drug overdose at the two-day electronic music festival held in June 2010 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The death prompted officials to issue a brief moratorium on raves. The event's producer, Insomniac Inc., moved the event to Las Vegas this year.
Erika Raney, Insomniac's communications director, told the Times that the company was "disappointed that a small group of people would try to mar a private documentary screening."
Source: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=138772074&ft=1&f=
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