Justin Bieber calls paparazzo death tragic and urges action

Police said the freelance photographer, whose name has not officially been released, was killed by another driver on Tuesday evening after he crossed a busy highway to snap pictures of the Ferrari that had been stopped by police for speeding.

Bieber, 18, was not in the sports car, which was reportedly being driven by a friend.

“While I was not present nor directly involved with this tragic accident, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim,” the “Boyfriend” singer said in statement.

Bieber, who is followed day and night by photographers, said he hoped the incident “will finally inspire meaningful legislation and whatever other necessary steps to protect the lives and safety of celebrities, police officers, innocent public bystanders, and the photographers themselves.”

Celebrity website TMZ.com said the photographer was following the Ferrari after seeing it pulling out of a Beverly Hills hotel on Tuesday evening, believing Bieber was inside the car.

Los Angeles police said the photographer was seen taking pictures of the traffic stop and was ordered by highway patrol officers to return to his car for safety reasons. He was struck by another motorist while trying to cross four lanes of traffic.

Bieber was stopped by police for speeding on a Los Angeles freeway last July, when the Canadian teen sensation told police he was being hounded by paparazzi.

But a Los Angeles judge in November threw out criminal charges against the photographer who was charged in that case under a new California law aimed at cracking down on aggressive photographers and celebrity media.

SHARE CLOSE
Blogger		Google+
Live Journal		Plurk
Stumble Upon

Tweet

	PREVIOUS ARTICLE
	Mirren gets star on LA's Walk of Fame

NEXT ARTICLE
Asia News Network's new-look online service goes live for New Year

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email

Submit