Officials on Monday closed down a campground in Malibu where a father was fatally shot inside his tent while he was camping with his young daughters. “The safety of park visitors is our top priority,” state parks officials said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to the victim and his family during this difficult time.” As they try to solve last week’s shooting at Malibu Creek State Park, Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators are examining several unsolved earlier shootings in the area. Tristan Beaudette, a renowned scientist who worked in pharmaceuticals, was camping at the state park in Calabasas just off Las Virgenes Road on Friday when he was fatally shot before dawn inside his tent where he was sleeping with his 4- and 2-year-old daughters. Advertisement Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell said detectives are examining whether the killing is connected to prior shootings at the state park. Officials stressed that they have not found any evidence linking Beaudette’s death to the other shootings. A wildlife biologist hiking the Backbone Trail and sleeping overnight in a hammock in Tapia Park, just south of Malibu Creek State Park, was hit by bird shot from a shotgun on Nov. 3, 2016. James Rogers told The Times that he needed surgery to remove the many pellets that struck him. “I heard a loud bang and then felt a burning sensation in my arm and fell to the ground,” he said. “Before I could look at my wound I did a quick check of the perimeter and I saw nothing.” Rogers said he did not realize the seriousness of the injury until he got to a hospital. “I sleep with my arm up by my head, and I suspect I was shot at close range,” he said. Rogers said there had been no headway in the shooting investigation, and he offered to set up wildlife cameras to capture images of someone moving through the area. Rogers said he was not sleeping in a formal campground and was about 200 yards from Malibu Canyon Road when he was shot in his right arm. Rogers said he fears the shooter may have refined his or her skills and be responsible for last week’s killing. Advertisement “I was told by those working out there, there have been several other shootings,” he said. Meliss Tatangelo was camping in her Honda when she heard a loud noise around 5 a.m in January 2017. She and another camper did not go outside, but she later found part of an ammunition round in the back of her car where she had been sleeping. She reported the incident to authorities, she noted on her Facebook page. She wrote that she believes a shotgun was fired about 20 feet away and if the line of fire had been an inch higher, she would have been struck as she slept. Beaudette, an Irvine resident and a veteran of the outdoors, was camping to allow his wife, an Orange County obstetrician, some quiet time to study for an examination. Before 5 a.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to a shot fired call from the area and found Beaudette bleeding. He died before he could be taken to a hospital. Advertisement Deputies with K-9s scoured the campground and surrounding trails for clues. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Rodney Moore said investigators are sifting through evidence from the scene and that the firearm has not been found. Detectives have begun reviewing other shootings in the area but have no evidence yet that ties any prior incidents to the killing, he said. “The theory we are working with is he was shot inside the tent,” Moore said. “The children were inside the tent too.” The Beaudette family said they were trying to come to terms with the loss. The couple had been preparing to move to Northern California. A GoFund Me account has raised more than $91,000 for the family. Advertisement “We are heartbroken by the loss of our beloved friend, husband, and father, Tristan Beaudette, whose life was tragically cut short by a senseless act of gun violence while on a camping trip with his two young daughters. The grief and trauma this loss has caused our close-knit family is indescribable,” the family said in a statement. Beaudette was a scientist with numerous patents, the family said. He “loved cooking and micro-brews. Tristan was happiest out in nature and spent every chance he could hiking, biking, snowboarding and camping with his family. Married to his high school sweetheart, Tristan was a supportive and generous husband, a full partner in every sense of the word.” Campsites at Malibu Creek State Park will remain closed until further notice, officials said. Parts of the crime site remaining taped off Monday. richard.winton@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @lacrimes UPDATES: 5:10 p.m.: Updated with park campground closed. 2:40 p.m.: This post was updated with additional information from the Sheriff’s Department. Advertisement This post was originally published at 11:45 a.m.<doc-sep>The shooting death of a father inside his tent while camping with his daughters at Malibu Creek State Park stunned residents and visitors to the popular open space. But that shock has turned to questions after it was revealed that at least five other shooting incidents had occurred in the last two years in the areas in and around the park. The other shootings, in which at least one person was injured, got little publicity at the time but now have prompted fears that they might somehow be connected. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it’s reviewing some of the earlier cases but has not found any direct links to the fatal shooting last week of scientist Tristan Beaudette at a campground inside the park. In the wake of the death, state park officials have closed the campground off Las Virgenes Canyon Road as a safety precaution until further notice. Some residents expressed concern about why officials did not provide more information about the earlier shootings. Advertisement Nicole Nishida, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman, said the three latest shootings before the homicide occurred were on June 6, 2017; July 22, 2017; and June 18, 2018. Nishida provided the number of shootings to The Times after the newspaper reported two accounts — from 2016 and January 2017 — of shootings that targeted campers. In one of those shootings, a young man sleeping in his hammock in nearby Tapia Park was shot with a shotgun and wounded. Nishida did not provide details about the other incidents. But Malibu community activist Cece Woods said she is aware of one incident just days before Beaudette was killed in which someone fired a shot at a Tesla being driven along Malibu Canyon Road. She said the bullet hit the car but no one was injured. Woods, who runs the publication The Local: the Voices of Malibu, said she believes authorities should have given the public more warning about that and the other shootings in the area. Sheriff’s officials on Tuesday said that they took those earlier shootings seriously. “The Malibu/Lost Hills Station has previously increased patrols in the areas nearby following the prior incidents, and has canvassed the surrounding residences in an effort to obtain any workable information,” Nishida said in a statement. “Deputies will continue to maintain a highly visible presence in the vicinity to ensure public safety.” Beaudette, who worked in pharmaceuticals, was camping at the state park in Calabasas just off Las Virgenes Road on Friday when he was fatally shot before dawn inside his tent, where he was with his 2- and 4-year-old daughters and other family members. Nishida said detectives have spent the last few days working with state parks officials and other agencies to “compare any similar shooting incidents” that have occurred within Malibu Creek State Park. The area in and around Malibu Creek State Park is patrolled by several different agencies, including state park rangers, sheriff’s deputies and California Highway Patrol. A state parks spokeswoman said it has turned over all reports from 2016 to present regarding the illegal discharge of weapons at Malibu Creek State Park to sheriff’s detectives. The agency declined to provide further details, citing the ongoing investigation. Advertisement L.A. County sheriff’s Lt. Rodney Moore, who is overseeing the homicide investigation, said in an interview that detectives had no evidence connecting any prior shootings to Beaudette’s death but that they also could not rule out any potential links. A young man who was hiking the Backbone Trail and sleeping overnight in a hammock in Tapia Park, just south of Malibu Creek State Park, was struck by a shotgun blast Nov. 3, 2016. James Rogers told The Times he needed surgery to remove the many pellets that hit him. “I heard a loud bang and then felt a burning sensation in my arm and fell to the ground,” he said. “Before I could look at my wound, I did a quick check of the perimeter and I saw nothing.” Rogers said he was not sleeping in a formal campground and was about 200 yards from Malibu Canyon Road when he was shot. Advertisement Meliss Tatangelo was camping in her Honda when she heard a loud noise around 5 a.m. in January 2017. She and another camper did not go outside, but she later found part of a shell at the back of her car where she had been sleeping. She reported the incident to authorities, she noted on her Facebook page. Law enforcement experts contacted by The Times said it’s difficult to determine whether a series of random shootings in an area are connected. Charles “Sid” Heal, a retired L.A. County sheriff’s commander, said that while geography may be similar, there are some key differences in the shootings. For example, the killing of Beaudette inside a campground feels different from someone taking a potshot on a canyon road. “If [authorities] felt there was a real danger to the public, they would have an obligation to inform people,” Heal said. “The problem here is the shootings are spaced out and may not follow any real pattern connecting them.” Advertisement richard.winton@latimes.com<doc-sep>(CNN) — A 35-year-old man camping with his young daughters was found fatally shot in a Southern California state park, authorities said. The man was identified as Tristan Beaudette of Irvine, California, Los Angeles County Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter said. Beaudette was discovered at a campsite at Malibu Creek State Park after authorities received a report of gunfire around 4:45 a.m. Friday, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said. Deputies arrived to find Beaudette “had sustained at least one gunshot wound to his upper torso,” according to LASD. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Winter said an autopsy is pending. Beaudette’s 2- and 4-year-old daughters were inside the tent with him, CNN affiliate KTLA reported. They were not injured, authorities said. Detective Rodney Moore of the sheriff’s department said no motive has been determined. KABC Authorities investigate the killing of a man at a state park in Southern California. “There is no suspect information, no suspect vehicle,” he said. “We are not investigating this as a suicide at this point.” “Homicide detectives are aware there have been other shootings near the location in the past, however there is no evidence that suggests this incident is related to any prior shootings near the location,” the LASD said. CNN affiliate KABC-TV detailed several of the other shootings at the park: A man said his car was hit by gunfire Monday morning. A woman told authorities in January 2017 she heard a loud noise in the middle of the night and found a bullet hole in the back of her car. There are also reports of a man being shot at the park in 2016. According to his LinkedIn page, Beaudete was an associate director at the pharmaceutical company Allergan. The LinkedIn bio also says Beaudette received a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley and had seven years experience in late-stage pharmaceutical drug product development. Allergan spokesperson Amy Rose released a statement from the company on Monday: “It’s rare that we lose a friend and colleague, especially in an event that was senseless and difficult to understand.” “Tristan will be remembered as a talented scientist who was admired by all who knew him and a meaningful contributor to our company’s research and development efforts.” The company’s statement also said it is “working closely with Tristan’s wife and family to provide them with the support they need during this very challenging time.” Malibu Creek State Park is a vast playground for outdoor enthusiasts and a spectacular backdrop used in movies and television shows. The rugged terrain crisscrossed with streams was used in the original “Planet of the Apes,” “M*A*S*H,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “How Green Was My Valley” and “Pleasantville.” Detectives said they are working with family members to try to arrange for forensic investigators who specialize in interviewing small children to speak with the daughters. According to a verified Go Fund Me campaign set up by the family, Beudette was camping with his daughters while his wife prepared to take an exam. After the exam the family was planning to move to the Bay Area, the page said. Beaudette’s wife, Erica Wu, issued this statement: “Words cannot express the absolute devastation and sorrow we feel from the loss of someone so dear to our family. You were admired by so many for your devotion to your wife and two daughters. We are all so fortunate to have known you for your short time on Earth. You were taken from us far too early, doing something you loved with the girls you adored.” California State Parks spokesperson Tony Hoffman told CNN affiliate KABC that the campground would remain closed for the next week in the interest of public safety. “Our hearts go out to the victim and his family during this difficult time,” California State Parks said. “The safety of park visitors is our top priority, and California State Parks is working closely with Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department homicide detectives as they investigate the incident.” CNN’s Keith Allen and Amir Vera contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Friday it has identified seven shootings in the Malibu Creek State Park area, but have yet to link them to the death of a father who was fatally shot earlier this month while camping with his two young daughters. The Sheriff’s Department said three of the shootings occurred in its jurisdiction, while the other four were in the state park’s jurisdiction. The incidents occurred between 2016 and this month. Tristan Beaudette, a scientist who worked in pharmaceuticals, was camping at the state park in Calabasas just off Las Virgenes Road when he was fatally shot in the head June 22 inside his tent, where he was sleeping with his 2- and 4-year-old daughters. The Times reported earlier this week that at least five other shootings have occurred in the area in the last two years, outraging some neighbors who complained they had not been notified of the attacks by the Sheriff’s Department. Detectives will be working with officials from the California State Parks Department to compare any similar incidents that have occurred within Malibu Creek State Park. A young man hiking the Backbone Trail and sleeping overnight in a hammock in Tapia Park, just south of Malibu Creek State Park, was struck by birdshot from a shotgun on Nov. 3, 2016. James Rogers said he needed surgery to remove the pellets that hit him. “I heard a loud bang and then felt a burning sensation in my arm and fell to the ground,” he said. “Before I could look at my wound, I did a quick check of the perimeter and I saw nothing. “I sleep with my arm up by my head, and I suspect I was shot at close range,” he told The Times in an interview this week. Rogers said there has been no headway in the investigation of his shooting. He said he was not sleeping in a formal campground and was about 200 yards from Malibu Canyon Road when he was shot in his right arm. “I was told by those working out there, there have been several other shootings,” he said. Meliss Tatangelo was camping in her Honda when she heard a loud noise around 5 a.m. in January 2017. She and another camper did not go outside, but she later found part of an ammunition round in the back of her car where she had been sleeping. She reported the incident to authorities, she noted on her Facebook page. She wrote that she believes a shotgun was fired from about 20 feet away and if the line of fire had been an inch higher, she would have been struck as she slept. L.A. County Sheriff’s Lt. Rodney Moore, who is overseeing the latest investigation, said in an interview Monday that detectives had no evidence connecting any prior shootings to Beaudette’s death but that they could not rule out any potential links. Besides Beaudette’s fatal shooting on June 22, here are the dates of the shootings in and around Malibu Creek State Park: