Cait Stoddard May 26th, 2025 - 9:34 PM
According to abc7.com, on May 25, several businesses, Metro trains and a police vehicle were vandalized during a chaotic scene in downtown Los Angeles. The incident happened after midnight when the Los Angeles Police Department received a call about a “large group disturbance” at Trinity Street and E Washington Boulevard. The police have said that more
than 300 people gathered for an unpermitted rooftop event at what appeared to be an abandoned building.
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According to a video obtained by Eyewitness News, things escalated quickly when the officers arrived on scene. The police said officers had to fire rubber bullets after they issued multiple warnings to clear the area and officers reported illegal fireworks, drug use and public drinking at the event.
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According to Metro, about 50 people blocked two A Line trains heading northbound and southbound at the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Maple Street, which is just south of downtown. “The trespassers began to spray paint on both trains and gained entry into the southbound train and sprayed paint on the interior of the train,” Metro said in a statement.
Metro also did mention that no train operators or passengers were injured and service was delayed for about 20 minutes. The crowd eventually died down after more officers were called to the scene. According to ktla.com, during the event, several individuals were also seen vandalizing an LAPD squad car, posing for pictures in front of the car, shooting fireworks at it, kicking it and spray painting it as the officers started to drive away.
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Also, multiple area businesses had graffiti scrawled on them, including a Panda Express, a WaBa Grill, a dialysis clinic and a medical building and other establishments. Earlier today, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass condemned the chaos that happened over the weekend: “We cannot do this. We cannot do this in our city and it has to be stopped. We have to be very aggressive about it, because we will never send the signal that maybe this is acceptable behavior. It is unacceptable under any and all circumstances, and those people that perpetrated this have to be held accountable to the full extent of the law.”
Photo Credit: Mehreen Rizvi
