There seems to be a phantom film crew roaming Echo Park this week. Not just an unpermitted band of filmers, but a mysterious presence. Let me begin on Tuesday early a.m. I was driving home after midnight. I am "on call" to write subtitles, and I had worked late into the evening. I drove across the city and then into Echo Park, which was deep asleep. I saw almost no cars. Lights were out in the houses. The streetlamps looked like wasted light. No swells leaving the bars on Sunset. I continued up Echo Park Avenue through the dark and quiet.

At home, I was just winding down when I heard gunshots. Seven of them, quite close. Unfortunately, I have enough experience listening to gun shots to know a) what they sound like and b) when they're close. I waited a moment, then I called 911. I got through right away, and I told the dispatcher about the gunfire. I told him where I was, and where I believed the shots had been. He told me there was a film being shot nearby. (Only in L.A., as one of my neighbors pointed out.) Ordinarily, this would have been exactly what I wanted to hear, but I hadn't seen any sign of a film crew, and I didn't hear any other kind of noise. I asked him if he was sure, because it seemed unlikely. I can't remember what he said exactly. We decided to end our conversation. About fifteen or twenty minutes later, a helicopter came by, did a couple of turns at a high altitude and then went away. This much I know.

Then it was quiet again, and I went to bed. The next day, there was one query about the shots on a neighborhood list serv. It was not going to be a big deal. I posted on the list that I had called 911 and the dispatcher said and etc, etc. To which different people began to say different things about whether or not a film had been shooting. Everyone agreed there had been gun shots, though. Malcolm, our resident citizen in charge of keeping track of film permits in Echo Park said no film had been permitted.

Jenny, I didn't get anything [i.e., any information about a film shoot], Mitch O'Farrell [of Eric Garcetti's office] checked and didn't get anything, Rosie posted an email from [senior lead police officer] SLO Bobby Hill saying it was a photo shoot, I don't know which one it could have been... MItch said at the Positive Energy meeting on Wed that he talked to Jody [of FilmLA] and she didn't know of any film shoot authorized to shoot guns. Bobby Hill said he checked it out personally and it was a film shoot.

To wit, the inestimable Rosie B. posted a note from Bobby Hill, our senior lead officer:

I was working that night and there was a movie shoot going on.. they sent several police cars to the location and the results were the same .. no shooting.

To which another friend of mine responded:

[Dear Rosie, etc.]1) There was a round of shots fired successively (4-6), and it was late into the evening - around 1am. I know this sound. It is the sound of a hand gun emptying its chamber or clip. There are two reasons that we know this happens: a) Someone is practicing or showing what a gun can do; b) Someone is trying to take out a target.

2) Films must have special permission to shoot guns that make the sound of gunfire. We know about every film that needs to get a permit thanks to Malcolm. This neighborhood rarely if ever allows this type of filming activity because the effect of noise can easily be produced in post-production, and we are VERY sensitive to the negative impact of gunfire. Late in the evening would NEVER be permitted - it is way too distressing for people. I cannot remember when a film was last permitted to allowed to use guns that make noise at all. None of the reports of a film crew say that they were responsible.

3) By the time there was a helicopter responding - about 10-15 minutes later, anyone involved who was not dead or severely injured would be long gone.

Conclusion by logic: 1) There were shots fired, and not by a film crew. 2) No one was killed or seriously injured. The police report of this incident should follow this logic

So, if Chicken Corner's deduction is correct: although no one is allowed to fire off a gun in the neighborhood (actors and perpetrators alike)...someone(s) did it anyway. ... They were wrong to do it, and they may not have done it. (Except that they did.)

If you happen to see a film crew wandering in the vicinity, approach with caution and concern. They may be lost. (Just ask the 911 dispatcher.) I've heard those crews get active when the moon is shining bright. For them, that's magic hour.