The shooting occurred on the sidewalk near the Hollywood/Highland subway station. (Beverly Press/Park Labrea News file photo)

Illegal gambling on Hollywood Boulevard led to a shooting during a busy evening on the Walk of Fame on April 14 after a woman was allegedly cheated out of money, police said.

The shooting victim, a man in his 30s, was allegedly running an illegal con game similar to Three-card Monte on the Hollywood Boulevard sidewalk near Highland Avenue. Around 7:35 p.m., the man engaged with a female suspect who played the game and lost, police said. An argument ensued between the man running the game and the woman’s boyfriend, who pulled out a gun and fired, said Capt. Raymond Valois, with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood Division. The couple fled after the shooting and is being sought by police.

“The [woman] lost a considerable amount of money and apparently she grabbed her money back,” Valois said. “The [man running the card game] got into a fight with her boyfriend and he pulled out a gun and shot him.”

The victim, who sustained a graze wound to the head, was treated at a hospital. The gunfire occurred during a bustling period on Hollywood Boulevard as the TCM Classic Film Festival was occurring nearby at the TCL Chinese Theatres. Festival attendees were issued an alert to shelter in place inside the theaters.

Police cordoned off Hollywood Boulevard near the Hollywood/Highland Metro Red Line station because officers initially believed the suspects fled into the subway system. A search ensued but officers were unable to locate the suspects.

Valois said investigators determined the suspects fled to a parked vehicle near Cherokee Avenue and Yucca Street and drove away from the Hollywood area. LAPD authorities determined the owner of the vehicle and searched for the car, he said.

Later the same night, the California Highway Patrol attempted to stop the suspects’ vehicle for an unrelated incident and a pursuit ensued. During the pursuit, the suspects threw a gun believed to have been used in the Hollywood shooting from the vehicle. CHP officers eventually arrested the suspects, but they were later released on bail because officers did not know at the time they were wanted by the LAPD for attempted murder. LAPD investigators are in the process of locating the suspects and re-arresting them. The suspects are described as Hispanic and in their 20s. Their names were not provided.

“We have them ID’d,” Valois added.

Illegal gambling has become an issue of concern on Hollywood Boulevard, Valois said, with people running variations of the classic shell game and Three-card Monte. He cautioned people to never play such games, as they are always scams.

“It’s an ongoing problem. They’ll set up a table to try to rip off tourists,” Valois said. “We have vice [address] that every opportunity we can. It’s something we are trying to prevent.”

Illegal gambling is a misdemeanor in California punishable by a sentence of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Anyone with information about the shooting or illegal gambling is urged to call the LAPD’s Hollywood Division at (213)972-2971.