Los Angeles police are investigating a murder-suicide after a woman allegedly killed her two children and their father before killing herself. Officers responded to reports of a shooting at an $833,000 home in the North Hills neighborhood just before 8pm PT on Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. When they arrived at the scene, an adult male, an adult woman and two young children were found dead inside.
Victims Identified
Police sources told the Los Angeles Times that a preliminary investigation indicated the shooter was a woman, and the victims were her two children and their father. The Los Angeles Medical Examiner's Office has since identified three of the four victims as 31-year-old Khajag Basmajian, 2-year-old Alec Basmajian, and Ella Basmajian, whose age was listed as 6 days. Basmajian worked as a Staff Cloud Platform Engineer at the financial operations software platform BlackLine, according to his LinkedIn. The company confirmed his passing in a statement to the Daily Mail: 'We are deeply saddened by this tragic loss. Our hearts are with everyone impacted by this devastating situation.'
Investigation Ongoing
The identity of the fourth person, a 30-year-old woman, has not been released pending notification of next of kin. Records indicate Basmajian was married to a woman named Marine, who also lived at the same address. It is unclear if she is the same woman. 'This is an absolute tragedy, and given the number of deceased, the Robbery-Homicide Special is handling the investigation,' said LAPD Captain Mike Bland. Bland added that investigators believe the incident was a murder suicide and there are no suspects at large.
Footage from the scene showed a man crying as officers placed police tape around the house. Residents in the working class neighborhood said they were shocked to learn of the tragedy. 'It's hard, like I don't know how someone could be driven to do something like that, that is such innocence,' neighbor Luis Enriquez told CBS LA. 'I don't know who did it, I don't know the whole information, but to me, even if it's a stranger, how can you do that to a child. Two children in this case.'
