Two Shot on Sunset Strip
A man who was kicked out of a Sunset Strip nightclub returned with a gun and shot two men, including a former guitarist with the rock band Kiss, authorities said Thursday.
The shooting took place at the Rainbow Room in the 900 block of Sunset Boulevard at 1:20 a.m., said Los Angeles Sheriff’s Lt. Bard Smith.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Oct. 18, 2003 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday October 18, 2003 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 0 inches; 30 words Type of Material: Correction
Club’s name -- A story in Friday’s California section incorrectly identified the club where a shooting took place as the Rainbow Room. The club is the Rainbow Bar & Grill.
An unidentified 29-year-old employee of the Rainbow Room was hit in the foot. Guitarist Bruce Kulick, 49, now with Grand Funk Railroad, was wounded in the thigh and grazed in the head as he stood down the block.
“It happened very quickly,” Kulick said. “I looked down and saw there was a hole in my leather pants. I heard the bullet whiz by my ear.” He said 75 to 100 people were nearby.
The 21-year-old suspect, identified as John Kale Phillips, was booked at the West Hollywood sheriff’s’ station on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. He was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
Sheriff’s investigators said Phillips got in a fight and either left or was removed from the club sometime after 1 a.m. A short time later, he returned with a handgun, they said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
