• High quality font-and-back screen printed design on Hanes Beefy-T shirts
• Custom blended inks to last much longer than the original & not flake off
• Altered (more accurate) details
• Tribute to an (assumingly) bootlegged tee from the 90s, originally printed on a Beefy-T!
• Boxy, retro fit with heavier-than-normal fabric weight for high durability
Care
For the best possible result to maintain the print on the shirt, simply turn it inside out before you put it in the wash, then wash on cold and tumble dry on 'low'. This will ensure that the shirt doesnt shrink or stretch, and will keep the print intact for many years - We have shirts from this supplier with elaboriate designs & a lot of wear time that have completely intact prints after over 5 years and countless washes!
North Hollywood, 1997
North Hollywood, 1997
The history behind one of America's most intense Police-Involved shootouts.
Setting The Stage
On the morning of February 28th 1997, after months of preparation & reconnoitering, two heavily armed men entered the Bank of America branch located at 6600 Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Los Angeles.
They were immediately spotted by two officers, one reporting over the radio:
"15-A-43, requesting assistance, we have a possible 211 in progress at the Bank of America"
A '211' being the police code for robbery.
The Robbers
At 9:16 AM, Larry Philips Jr. and Emil Mătăsăreanu begun their robbery of Bank Of America's North Hollywood branch.
Immediately escalating into a flurry of gunfire and panic, the LAPD began surrounding the bank, waiting for the perps to emerge.
What would result was not the successful theft of piles of cash or a hollywood-esque getaway, but a massive reality check for law enforcement officers around the United States.
The Cops
Armed with their typical 9mm, .38 special, and 12 gauge, patrol officers faced the two heavily armed (and armored) shooters head on.
Mătăsăreanu & Philips were equipped with the Norinco type 56, Bushmaster XM-15 Dissipator, and a whole lot of ammunition in drum magazines.
To make matters even worse, nearly all the weapons the robbers used were illegally converted to select-fire full-auto.
Severely outgunned, the officers quickly realized their handguns and shotguns were virtually useless against the shooter's IIIA soft armor and homemade steel armor plates.
Spraying hundreds of rounds into officers and their vehicles, the situation seemed almost helpless, even with the sheer manpower of dozens of police officers.
Then, the LAPD got a little creative.
Firepower Arrives
Rushing in to a nearby gun store (yes, really), officers equipped themselves with AR-15s and a host of other semi-automatic rifles.
As crazy of an idea as it was, it ended up being a major turning point in the gun battle before the SWAT team hastily arrived.
Even upon the SWAT team's arrival eighteen minutes into the gunfight, their few higher caliber rifles failed to initially take down the gunmen.
Instead, the SWAT team focused on evacuating injured officers with a nearby armored truck.
The Heat Dies Down
In an attempted escape, Philips was shot right before entering the getaway car, and was left behind by Mătăsăreanu.
The LAPD eventually pin down Philips, who didn't make it too far from the bank on foot.
His rifle jams, and after being shot in the hand he turned his Beretta 92 FS to his chin and pulled the trigger.
Mătăsăreanu did speed off in his getaway vehicle, but after it was disabled ended up attempting (and failing) to carjack. He too, was pinned down by the LAPD.
After sustaining 29 gunshots in the legs and a two-and-a-half-minute uninterrupted exchange of gunfire, police finally were able to arrest Mătăsăreanu.
While detained, he berated officers, demanding to be killed by them and succumbed to his wounds before EMTs were allowed into the hot zone over an hour later.
Aftermath & Legacy
The incident's infamy speaks for itself, and after other similar incidents such as the mid 80s FBI shootout in Miami, police departments around the US upgraded their arms with higher caliber rifles such as the AR-15 to prepare for any similar incidents in the future...
Worthy of Note, the Federal Assault Weapons ban had been in place for years by the time of the incident.
It clearly did nothing to stop known felons from obtaining & illegally modifying rifles to be fully automatic, and causing mass havoc in the streets of Los Angeles.
In short; the bad guys don't follow the rules.
The Tee
So, what Got us started on this project?
One afternoon, surfing ebay, this commemorative shirt with no particular origin (that we could trace) appeared. It depicted the event from a birds-eye view, with an appropriate amount of bullets sprayed everywhere.
We knew immediately upon seeing it that it shouldn't be locked away in someone's grailed shirt collection. So we gave it the full treatment to bring it back.
The result is a high quality double-sided custom print shirt that'll last through years of wearing and countless cycles in the wash.
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Made In The USA
