Nearly 60 people were detained Wednesday in a police raid on what was supposed to be a vacant building in Hollywood.
Police and SWAT officers went to the building in the 6300 block of Hollywood Boulevard around 4:30 a.m., said Officer Norma Eisenman of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Section.
By about 7 a.m., police had detained 59 people for questioning, the LAPD reported. A warrant was obtained to search the building, police said.
CBS2 reported that police had received a tip that drugs and guns were being sold out of the location.
The detainees included squatters, people who claimed they were paying rent, and others who claimed they were just visiting the location.
“We have heard from several people that, unfortunately, they were led to believe by someone that they had a right to be there,” LAPD Detective Meghan Aguilar told Fox11. “But what we know is (the) building should not have been occupied, and the property owner was aware of that.”
Some people were cited for trespassing, and one person was arrested on a felony warrant for a weapons violation, Fox11 reported.
City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who represents the Hollywood area, told reporters the owner of the building is a “stereotypical slumlord, and we’re going after him.”
Hollywood Boulevard near Ivar Street was closed and drivers were asked to avoid the area.