L.A. County coroner identifies Studio City gunman
LAPD on scene of shooting on Ventura and Laurel Canyon boulevards in Los Angeles on July 24.
The gunman who died after opening fire in a busy stretch of Ventura Boulevard in Studio City on Friday has been identified as a 44-year-old Los Angeles resident.
Seth Raines sustained multiple gunshot wounds and died after police armed with handguns confronted him outside the Union Bank on Ventura Boulevard, according to Los Angeles County coroner’s spokesman Ed Winter.
Witnesses said Raines fired shots into the air and toward the ground about 3:20 p.m. near Vantage Avenue. Soon after, police responded to the scene.
Terrified witnesses sought cover and hid behind police cars as officers inched closer to the man.
But witnesses said Raines appeared to be calm as he sat on a brick ledge outside the bank.
“He looked like he was just waiting for the cops,” witness Paul Gilmartin said after the shooting.
Officers took cover behind their patrol car doors and yelled for the man to drop the gun, Gilmartin said. The man raised his weapon and then shots were fired.
The drama continued after the gunfire. An LAPD robot examined at least two items near Raines’ body, which was slumped in a flower bed. Police feared the items were explosive.
Details about the shooting remained unclear Tuesday.
Before Raines moved to Los Angeles, he bounced around the country, living for a period in Humboldt County. He lived in Colorado, Kansas and Oregon, authorities said.
In Los Angeles County, Raines had brief run-ins with police.
On separate occasions, he was charged violating several municipal codes, including camping in a public place and possessing a shopping cart. But the charges were dismissed, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records.
In 2008, he was convicted of resisting arrest, court records show.
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