An early morning shooting in Beverly Hills left at least three people dead in a vehicle on Ellison Drive near Benedict Canyon and sent another four people to area hospitals in critical condition, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman confirmed on Saturday.
The bullets exploded around 2:30 a.m. outside what the LAPD calls “a short-term rental property” in the tony Westside neighborhood of Beverly Crest, an area where the median home price hovers around $11 million. It was the fourth mass shooting in California this week.
“When officers arrived, they found five victims suffering from gunshot wounds,” the LAPD said in a statement. Three were pronounced dead at the scene, the statement added, and a total of seven people were shot. “We’re awaiting the coroner to make a determination as to the ages and genders of the deceased.”
“At this time, we have two in critical condition and 2 listed in stable condition. With a total of 7 gunshot victims,” the LAPD reported on Twitter. “Investigators can confirm this WAS NOT an active shooter situation.”
It’s unclear what precipitated the deadly fusillade of bullets, police said. “We are still interviewing the occupants of the house as well as neighbors and witnesses.
For the past 30 years, Mindy Mann and her husband Bob have lived in a home down the street from where last night’s shooting occurred. Mindy Mann said that without the usual elements of “party house,” such as blocked streets and booming noise, last night’s gathering was a quiet affair.
“If it was a large party, I would have heard all the cars going up and back passing by my street or I would have heard the noise from the party, and I did not hearing anything,” Mann said. “If they had a party it must have been small because we didn’t hear anything until I was rudely awakened by a helicopter at 2:45 in the morning.”
The four bedroom house was sold in 2019 to a British music manager based in London and a partner for more than $2 million and was rented to the tenants through 365 Hospitality, a third party luxury rental facilitator. LA Mag is not identifying the owner.
Travis Longcore, president of the Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council, whose jurisdiction spreads from Laurel Canyon to the 405, excluding Beverly Hills, said the incident highlights the need for the city to enforce current restrictions on short-term rentals.
“Anybody who is an actual resident of the area and not a short-term residential operator, when you wake up to news like this the immediate reaction is: that’s a short-term rental,” Longcore said. “That’s what [a short-term rental in Benedict Canyon] attracts: People out on the street at 2:30 in the morning that have come to a party at a house in the hills.”
One week ago, a 72-year-old gunman burst into the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park and opened fire with a 9 mm Mac-10, killing 11 people as they celebrated the Lunar New Year. Two days later, another elderly gunman opened fire at two locations in Half Moon Bay, in Northern California, killing seven. Later that same day in Oakland one person was killed and seven wounded when gunfire erupted at a music video shoot.
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