A man was shot and killed in North Hollywood early Monday after an argument between two men turned violent, with the gunman fleeing before police could catch him. Officers have made no arrests, and the investigation remains open.
LAPD officers responded to the area of Kittridge Street and Elmer Avenue at around 4:30 a.m., according to NBC Los Angeles, where they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. Paramedics declared him dead at the scene. Police say two men had been arguing when one of them pulled a gun and shot the other before running off, and the gunman's whereabouts remain unknown.
The Investigation Continues
The homicide investigation remains active following the shooting near Kittridge Street and Elmer Avenue.
The shooting echoes a similar pattern seen elsewhere in the city this year. Hoodline previously reported on a pre-dawn Hollywood shooting in June where the suspect had not been identified, underscoring how early-morning street violence continues to challenge investigators even as broader crime trends fall.
A City Trending Toward Record-Low Violence
This latest homicide lands amid a historic decline in violence across Los Angeles. The city recorded 230 homicides in 2025, a 19% drop from 284 the year before and the lowest annual total since 1966, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. LAPD homicide detectives closed 156 of those new cases last year, a 68% clearance rate, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
The decline extends beyond city limits. California's statewide homicide rate fell to 3.5 per 100,000 residents in 2025, its lowest level since comprehensive record-keeping began in 1966, a trend Hoodline noted in its earlier coverage of a South LA shooting.
Citywide, the number of shooting victims dropped 8% from 981 in 2024 to 899 in 2025, even as officers seized 8,650 firearms, Patch reports, with LAPD leadership crediting sustained gun recoveries as a key factor behind the lower homicide count.
Anyone with information on the North Hollywood shooting can contact L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or use the P3 Tips mobile app. The city also maintains a standing Hit-and-Run Reward Program offering up to $50,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction in unresolved violent incidents.
For now, the identity of the victim, the motive behind the argument, and the location of the gunman remain open questions in what is still an active homicide investigation. No arrests have been made, and detectives have not released a suspect description.
