When Rachel David arrived at her Benedict Canyon home after a late night out Saturday morning, she assumed the rows of flashing police cars were part of a movie set, which is common in the area.
She soon found out it wasn’t a movie set. Police say three people — women in their mid-20s or early 30s — were shot dead and four others wounded in a car in a quiet cul-de-sac in an isolated neighborhood north of Beverly Hills.
Shootings have been deadly in California for a week. Last weekend, a gunman killed 11 people in a mass shooting in Monterey Park, and two days later, another gunman shot seven people at two farms near Half Moon Bay.
“I wait for my Ubers around the corner,” David said Saturday morning, pointing to the intersection of Ellison and Arby’s Drive, marked with yellow police tape. “Not anymore.”
As of Saturday afternoon, detectives were still looking for a suspect or suspects, but they had not released much information other than to say what happened and who was involved in the shooting — which involved more than 30 shots being fired — not at random. Authorities found a white Porsche SUV and a black Mazda SUV at the scene with bullet holes in both sides of the car and in the passenger-side window.
Sgt. Bruce Borihan of the Los Angeles Police Department said the home was a short-term rental. Neighbors said the area has seen an influx of residents in recent years. Many homes are listed on Airbnb and Verbo for between $600 and $7,500 a night.
In a statement to reporters at the scene, Borihanh said, “We called a meeting until we interviewed some of the people who were here to find out exactly what kind of meeting it was.”
Capt. Jonathan Tippett, head of the LAPD’s robbery-homicide division, said witnesses to the shooting and the occupants of the home left before police arrived. Neighbors said they saw several cars leaving the scene within minutes of the shooting.
Several neighbors awoke to the sound of police helicopters circling overhead.
David’s mother, who declined to be named, said: “Now you know why mothers worry when their children leave late.
“I feel terrible,” she added, gesturing with her coffee mug toward the closed driveway where the bodies of the three victims were found in the car.
She and David live around the corner from the crime scene with David’s grandfather, who has lived in the house since the 1960s as the original owner. For decades, it was a quiet neighborhood of longtime residents. As many of the previous owners have died in the past five years, many of the residences have been converted into rental properties, the women said.
“Literally, I don’t even lock my car at night, it’s so safe,” David said. “Even the people trying to find our house can’t find it.”
The Ellison Drive resident, who did not want to be named, said she also thought police helicopters were flying over looking for suspects involved in petty crimes, possibly robberies. Then a few hours later her phone rang.
“My dog walking woke me up at 6:30 and I was like, ‘Oh my God, are you okay?’ said the woman. “Then I realized that it’s more serious than someone stealing the jewelry.”
She said many of the homes appeared to have been recently renovated and turned into short-term rentals.
“There are some party houses there,” she said. “I was always curious about what was going to happen on the hill.”
Film director Frank Corassi, who has lived in the area for the past 20 years, said he occasionally rents out his home. He has had a tenant for the past eight months and now lives about 10 minutes away. When he heard the shot, he headed to the right.
“We are shocked, three people died. I could walk my dog,” he said.
The cul-de-sac has become home to many celebrities, Corassi said. The sleek, modern residence across the street from the scene of the murders is often rented out to high-end parties, he said. House parties in rented houses were common during the COVID-19 lockdown, he said.
Benedict Canyon is popular with celebrities because it’s a short drive from town but is quiet and secluded, said Joel Gilman, a retired advertising executive who bought the home in 1971 for $58,000.
“It feels like you’re a million miles away, except it’s a five-minute drive from the city and the valley,” Gilman said.
While Benedict Canyon once had a rural air — some residents rode horses down the streets when Gilman moved in — the neighborhood has been transformed by investors who have built 10,000-square-foot homes for sale or rent, he said.
Gilman said he saw a listing for $100,000 a month in rent for a house down the street from the shooting.
On Friday night I heard nothing, neither the sound of a party nor the sound of gunshots. If there was a party, the sound would be amplified across the valley, Gilman said.
He was shocked that the suspect or suspects were able to escape, considering the dead ends and winding roads of the neighborhood.
Benedict Canyon They committed several high-profile murders, including the 1969 Manson “Family” murders and the 2000 murder of Susan Berman, who was shot in the head by her best friend, realtor Robert. Durst
But “it’s not really common,” said Samantha Annobile, a real estate agent who lives down the street from the shooting site.
Saturday afternoon, a woman left her home on Ellison Drive to pick up a delivery. She said she entered the house a day ago. She said she didn’t hear any gunshots and woke up to police flooding the street.
She didn’t expect him to shoot her in the foot – “I mean in Beverly Hills?” – But she said she was not particularly worried.
“I’m from New York,” she said.