American arrested after Liverpool man shot outside bar in Los Angeles

Shaun Byrne was saved by paramedics and emergency workers in Los Angeles after he was shot outside a bar. Credit: Liverpool Echo

An American accused of shooting a man outside a bar in Los Angeles has been arrested in a house full of high powered weapons including assault rifles, police say.

Shaun Byrne, 35, was saved by paramedics and officers from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) after the incident, in the Venice Beach area, on Saturday, 30 July.

Shaun, a chief engineer specialising in yachts, spent weeks in hospital and required surgery after the bullet passed through his body and exited his chest.

Another man, Shaun's friend Charlie Rodman, from the Solihull area in the West Midlands, was also shot in the hip in the incident.

Following the shooting the LAPD released the chilling CCTV footage of the incident, and launched a wanted appeal for Brandon Manyo Dixon, who was identified as the prime suspect.

Now the force has said Dixon had been taken into custody in West Virginia, after a manhunt involving the assistance of the US Marshal service.

Shaun Byrne was shot in the back outside a bar in Los Angeles. Credit: Liverpool Echo

Shaun, from Old Swan, Liverpool, said: "We are all very happy. He had an [assault rifle] with him when he got arrested so it was just a matter of time before someone would have been killed.

"It was a mad few months but we came through it and got some closure and can start fresh next year."

Detectives said Dixon was initially believed to have fled to Memphis, Tennessee, after the shooting, but had already moved on when a taskforce raided an address there.

However, the US Marshals tracked Dixon again to his final hiding place, where the West Virginia US Marshal Task Force carried out surveillance.

The marshals had also received intelligence that Dixon was in possession of several "high-powered firearms".

A raid was carried out on 16 December involving a local police force SWAT team, but Dixon was arrested without incident.

The guns seized following the arrest. Credit: LAPD

The LAPD released pictures of some of the weapons discovered inside the address, including what appears to be a military style assault rifle leaning against a wall with a Christmas stocking hanging nearby.

The property also contained a gold semi-automatic handgun, a revolver mounted onto a wall, and a black semi-automatic handgun.

Speaking about the incident in November, Shaun said he has little memory of the moment his holiday turned into near tragedy.

According to police, Shaun and Charlie became involved in a heated argument with an American man, when his friend pulled out a gun and fired from close range.

He said the bullet passed through his lung "very close to my heart", and a short time after being struck he collapsed. He said: "I blacked out. They were doing CPR and I wasn’t responding."

Shaun said the next thing he could recall was waking up in the Ronald Reagan UCLA hospital after emergency surgery.

He said: "I found out I got shot in the back and the bullet went straight through, exiting my chest. I was treated at the scene by the LAPD and paramedics who resuscitated me.

"I stayed in hospital for a few weeks then flew home. I've been recovering and I'm good now. I can’t complain though, it could have been a lot worse so I'm lucky.

"The LAPD and UCLA hospital staff definitely saved my life."