At least 5 shot, 1 dead in Hollywood Hills gunfight after botched robbery, police say

One person was shot to death and at least four others were injured after a botched robbery in the Hollywood Hills on Friday morning, police said.

The chaotic events, which involved three suspects and three people at the home that was targeted in the robbery attempt, unfolded shortly after 2 a.m. in the 1400 block of Blue Jay Way in a tony enclave known for its celebrity homes and steep prices.

The suspects followed a Rolls-Royce into the neighborhood and up to the mansion of Richard Saghian, the chief executive of Instagram-driven fashion brand Fashion Nova, two law enforcement sources told The Times.

Once they reached the residence, two suspects exited the vehicle with handguns and ski masks and forced two victims onto the ground at gunpoint, demanding their watches and jewelry, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement. The third suspect remained in the vehicle.

Three people at the home were shot, and one of them — an armed bodyguard — returned fire, striking two of the suspects, authorities said. The robbery suspects, described by Officer Jeff Lee as men in their 20s, then jumped into a car and fled the scene.

Investigators think the suspects tracked Saghian’s Rolls-Royce into the Hollywood Hills. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the suspects were specifically going after the fashion mogul, who is behind an apparel line in collaboration with Cardi B, or were simply targeting the vehicle.

The three people who were shot at the home were taken to a nearby hospital. The guard, a man in his 60s, was shot in the abdomen and remained in critical condition Friday afternoon, officials said. The other two, described by Lee as a man in his 40s and a man his 50s, were stable.

Police caught up with the suspects near Santa Monica Boulevard and Doheny Drive in Beverly Hills, where one man who had been shot in the abdomen was pronounced dead, officials said.

A second suspect suffering from a gunshot wound to the ankle was taken to a hospital.

The third man, who had not been struck by gunfire, was taken into custody, police said.

Detectives are working on a theory that the suspects may be responsible for a string of robberies in the last year, sources told The Times.