Burbank police officers who responded to the report of a shooting early Tuesday found two men dead and a woman who was critically injured. Three children were also found and taken to family members.
Burbank police have identified two men who were shot and killed early Tuesday, but the reasons for the incident remain unclear.
After receiving a report of a shooting at about 1:25 a.m. Tuesday, officers responded to a residence in the 900 block of Cambridge Drive and found in the driveway a man who had at least one gunshot wound, according to a Burbank Police Department news release. The man, 34-year old Los Angeles resident Edward Lopez, was pronounced dead at the scene.
While trying to give aid to Lopez, officers heard yelling from inside the home about someone being shot, the department said. They entered the house and found 41-year-old Burbank resident Armen Sahakyan shot in his upstairs bedroom. He, too, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sahakyan’s wife, whom police have not identified by name, was taken from the house to a hospital in critical condition with gunshot wounds. The couple’s three children, ages 7, 13 and 17, were also found in the house and taken to family members.
Police have released few further details as the investigation continues. However, Police Chief Scott LaChasse said at a City Council meeting Tuesday that Lopez had been released from state prison on June 30 and had a history of burglary and gun-related crimes, including a shooting in Glendale a few years ago. The chief also said at the Burbank Police Commission meeting on Wednesday that Lopez was wearing black clothing and had a handgun with a silencer with him.
Sahakyan and his wife had immigrated to the United States four years ago, LaChasse said, and had purchased their Burbank home only two years ago.
LaChasse also told council members that police do not know why Lopez was at the house, though a news release has confirmed that he is a suspect in the other man’s death.
“The one thing I think is very important is to reinforce to the community that this was not a random crime and that Burbank still is a safe place,” LaChasse said at the council meeting. He also said officers responded to the shooting report within about 30 seconds.
Some residents who live near the site of the incident said they were disturbed that two people had been shot and killed in a town where homicides are rare.
“Burbank’s a sleepy town,” Rebecca Chernack said the morning of Tuesday’s shooting. “We’re not accustomed to [shootings].”
Mary Fermanyan, who lives less than a block away from where the shooting took place, said she heard a noise and even received a Ring alert about a gunshot, but didn’t think anything of it — fireworks and loud cars are frequent sources of noise in the area, she added.
When she woke up the next morning, there were camera crews and police tape lining the street.
“It makes me feel less safe to be out late,” she said of the shooting. “I tend to come home this way, so it kind of makes you think.”
