L.A. Man Charged With 37 Counts of Attempted Murder After Plowing Into Club Crowd

A 29-year-old man from San Clemente, California, is facing a staggering 37 counts of attempted murder after allegedly driving his car into a crowd of people outside a Los Angeles nightclub early Saturday morning.

Prosecutors say Fernando Ramirez deliberately steered his car onto the sidewalk just as the crowd was spilling out from a reggae hip-hop night at The Vermont Hollywood. In total, 37 people were injured in the crash — a scene officials are now calling a near “mass casualty event.”

“When he drove that car onto that sidewalk, he aimed it at a whole sea of pedestrians,” said L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman on Tuesday, announcing the charges, which also include 37 counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

The vehicle finally came to a halt after slamming into food carts. Bystanders pulled Ramirez out and began attacking him before police arrived. Somewhere in the chaos, Ramirez was shot. Officers say the shooter fled the scene and is still being sought.

Ramirez is currently hospitalized and being held without bail. His arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday. So far, no lawyer has been assigned to represent him, according to the public defender’s office.

According to prosecutors, injuries ranged from cuts and bruises to serious fractures. Eight of the victims are said to have suffered “great bodily harm.” Fire officials say 23 people were taken to hospitals.

District Attorney Hochman added: “We understand that this brazen act has shaken the community, and but for the good grace of God, this could have been a mass casualty incident.”

As of now, the motive behind the alleged attack is still unknown.

Court records paint a troubling picture of Ramirez’s past. He has prior charges and convictions for battery, gang-related activity, domestic violence, and a 2019 aggravated battery case where he attacked a Black man at a Whole Foods in Laguna Beach.

In that case, prosecutors described him as someone who showed “a lack of concern for the safety of others” and had been violent “to strangers and family alike.”

At the time of the nightclub incident, Ramirez reportedly had two open cases: one for drunk driving in 2024, and another domestic violence charge from 2022.

With input from Al Jazeera