Authorities Identify Man Shot To Death By Police In Hollywood

HOLLYWOOD, CA — A man who was fatally shot by police in Hollywood Saturday afternoon while wearing body armor was identified Monday morning.

Richard Solitro, a 34-year-old man from Rhode Island, was killed in the shooting. NBC4 said Solitro was a "long-term guest" at the Quality Inn Hotel on La Brea Avenue.

The shooting took place at Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue around 2:37 p.m. Saturday afternoon.. The Los Angeles Police Department said their officers were driving to a radio call with their lights and siren on when a car pulled in front of them and backed into their patrol car.

"The driver of the car exited, was wearing body armor, & had his right hand concealed behind him," LAPD said Saturday. "He moved toward the [officers] who had exited their patrol car. He counted "3, 2, 1" & began to move his arm to the front of his body, at which time there was an OIS."

Solitro's black SUV had multiple messages written on it such as "King Satan 666," "New world order" and "Cancel all Bibles." His father told NBC Solitro suffered from mental health issues for years, and that he was in a "delusional state" and had been off his medication leading up to the fatal shooting in Hollywood.

The Boston Globe reported Solitro had previously been shot by police while living in North Providence, Rhode Island in 2018. According to the Globe, officers had gone to his house for a welfare check, and that Solitro returned while the officers were still there.

Police said Solitro yelled at an officer and brandished a replica gun, and that the police officer shot him two times in the abdomen after telling him to drop the gun. The officer was later cleared by a grand jury in 2019.

Saturday's shooting was the second involving Los Angeles police in two days.

About 2:30 a.m. Friday, officers were sent to the 5200 block of Whitsett Avenue in the Valley Village area on a report of a man armed with a knife, police said.

"When they encountered the man, they used less lethal munitions which were not effective (and) an OIS occurred," according to an LAPD statement. "The man was struck by gunfire (and) taken to a local hospital where he is in stable condition."

Officers found the suspect on a sidewalk after he apparently fell from a balcony, still holding a knife, Fox11 reported.

A knife was recovered at the scene, according to the police.

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