About an hour earlier Mătăsăreanu and Larry Phillips entered and robbed the bank but were confronted by LAPD officers when they exited the bank and a shootout between the officers and robbers ensued. The robbers attempted to flee the scene, Phillips on foot and Mătăsăreanu in their getaway car, while continuing to exchange fire with the officers. Mătăsăreanu took cover behind the getaway car and engaged them two-and-a-half minutes of almost uninterrupted gunfire. One SWAT officer fired his AR-15 below the cars and wounded Mătăsăreanu in his unprotected lower legs; he was soon unable to continue and put his hands up to show surrender. The police radioed for an ambulance but Mătăsăreanu, loudly swearing profusely and goading the police to shoot him, died before the ambulance and EMTs were allowed to reach the scene almost 70 minutes later.