Dennis RomeroAdded: Turns out there was a Halloween pub crawl that night. Pictures.
A series of fights broke out along Hollywood Boulevard as Halloween-themed club parties let out for the night Saturday. Some of the anarchic violence was captured on a pair of YouTube videos (after the jump).
One man, identified only as a 27-year-old reveler, was beaten unconscious, with authorities and reports stating he was kicked in the head and subsequently hospitalized in critical condition.
Police were nowhere to be found for precious moments as party-goers circled combatants at Hollywood Boulevard and North Las Palmas Avenue about 1:30 a.m. yesterday. In fact …
… paramedics were first at the scene and had to call police, according to what Sgt. Mark Ro of the LAPD Hollywood Division told City News Service.
In two videos at least three distinct fights can be seen, with one involving a female who runs up on a foe and a few others involving men.
In one video an onlooker is heard saying he saw a man get punched: “Blood was flying off him, dude pulled a knife.”
TV news reports and police indicate the fighting broke out at Hollywood Boulevard and Wilcox Avenue near or outside the Playhouse nightclub, but video reveals that it was happening a few blocks to the west (the Las Palmas street sign and the Hollywood Bazaar market can be seen).
Cops told City News that about 100 people were involved in the fighting.
Ro said it was hard to come up with suspect descriptions because “everybody was in costume” and the victim's friends “were not cooperative.”
The video shows young men — not in costume — shirtless, preparing to fight and joining in. Maybe it will help.
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