Two Men Who Knew Each Other Picked Downtown Santa Monica to Have a Gun Battle. Victim Tried to Run Down Perpetrator

Tuesday's gun battle that disrupted downtown Santa Monica, turns out, was just a dispute between friends.

Manuel Jaramillo, 52, fired several rounds at Emilio Reyes, 43. One struck Reyes in the arm. He reacted by ramming his SUV into the van driven by Jaramillo. Below is the press release from Lt. Rudy Flores, SMPD PIO:

On January 24, 2023, at approximately 3:42 PM, Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) Officers were flagged down by several people, who heard gunshots near 6th and Broadway. Officers located two vehicles, an SUV and a van, both were involved in a collision. The driver of the SUV, Emilio Reyes, appeared to have a gunshot wound to his upper arm.

SMPD Officers learned that the driver of the van, identified as Manuel Jaramillo, shot several rounds at Reyes. In response, Reyes intentionally rammed his SUV into Jaramillo's van twice, while he was still inside. Reyes and Jaramillo are known to each other and were involved in an argument prior to the incident.

Reyes was transported to a local hospital with a non-life-threatening injury and has subsequently been discharged. The handgun used by Jaramillo was recovered, and both vehicles were towed to be processed by Forensics. There are no outstanding suspects.

Manuel Jaramillo-Heredia, a 52-year-old male from Inglewood, and Emilio Reyes a 43-year-old from Los Angeles were both booked for Attempted Murder.

The case will be presented to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office on January 26, 2023, for filing consideration.

Anyone with any additional information pertaining to this subject or incident is strongly encouraged to contact SMPD Detective George Burciaga at 310-458- 8932 or the Watch Commander (24 hours) at 310-458-8426.