Doctor and Kin Shot in Ambush by Ex-Patient

A Los Angeles psychologist and his family were ambushed by a former patient who shot the therapist, his wife and 7-year-old daughter as she chased the family around their Fairfax-area home, police said Monday. The suspect allegedly had been “stalking” the therapist and his family for more than four years.

With gunshots still ringing out, the psychologist, David Fox, and his wife, Deborah, managed to tackle and subdue Kimberly Gracyalny, 30, during the Sunday evening attack and then call police, said Detective Lt. Robert E. Kimball of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Wilshire Division.

“The wounds were good enough for them to be hospitalized, but not life threatening,” Kimball said.

In court pleadings filed in 1986, Fox said that Gracyalny for three years had continuously harassed his family by vandalizing his car and home and shooting off flashbulbs in front of his windows. Fox also said that Gracyalny had threatened to harm his wife and children.

Admitted for Treatment

Police said Fox, 33, his wife, 31, and their daughter were taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where they were admitted for treatment of gunshot wounds. Kimball said Fox was shot in the arm, but refused to discuss details of the injuries to his wife and daughter. An 8-year-old son who was with the family during the attack escaped injury.

A hospital spokeswoman said Monday that the Foxes’ wounds are superficial and that the family will be released from the hospital today. “They were very lucky,” spokeswoman Paula Correia said.

Gracyalny, who was armed with a revolver, is being held in the jail ward at County-USC Medical Center, Kimball said. Police will ask the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office to file charges of attempted murder against her, he added.

‘Constant Source of Harassment’

Fox, who specializes in neuro-psychology, treated Gracyalny for about a year beginning in 1982, Kimball said, for an undisclosed problem. “Since 1983, Kimberly has been a constant source of harassment to Dr. Fox,” the detective added.

Gracyalny has been arrested at least twice for trespassing on the Fox property, Kimball said, despite a Superior Court restraining order that Fox obtained in 1986. In addition, Kimball said, Gracyalny has made harassing telephone calls to the therapist.

Sunday’s incident began about 7:30 p.m., Kimball said, when the Foxes returned from dinner to their home in the 100 block of North Gardner Street, near Pan Pacific Park. As the family began getting out of their car, Gracyalny opened fire from the yard, Kimball said. One bullet struck Fox in the arm.

To escape the hail of bullets, the family ran to the back of their home, with Gracyalny in pursuit. During the chase, bullets grazed Deborah Fox and the couple’s daughter.

Then, Kimball said, “David Fox grabbed a hold of (Gracyalny) and with the help of his wife subdued the suspect. They got her on the ground and held her until the police came.”

None of Fox’s colleagues could be reached for comment Monday.

A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Psychological Assn., of which Fox is a member, said Fox’s speciality is neuro-psychology and that he received his advanced degree from Wayne State University in Detroit in 1979. Fox practices on Wilshire Boulevard, just east of Beverly Hills.

In the restraining order, issued on March 13, 1986, Judge Charles E. Jones ordered Gracyalny to remain at least 500 yards from Fox and to refrain from telephoning or following him, his wife and his children.

In legal papers filed by Fox seeking the injunction, the doctor wrote that Gracyalny “admits to ‘stalking’ (Fox) over 2.5 to 3 year period,” including following his move to a new home and neighborhood.

Weekly Trespasses

Between September, 1985, and February, 1986, Fox charged, Gracyalny trespassed on his property on a weekly basis “by scaling backyard wall and by street entry to front, back and sides of house.” She appeared “in early mornings and after midnight and evenings,” he charged.

While on the property, he added, she took “flashbulb shots through windows.” She also was the sole suspect, he claimed, in several acts of vandalism, including the slashing of four tires on his station wagon, the gutting of one of his cars and the painting over of nine of his windows and screens.

“Defendant verbalized obsession about injuring (him) and killing (his) children with car,” Fox continued.

Fox also wrote that Gracyalny continued to trespass after being placed on summary probation Feb. 6, 1986, following her court appearance after a citizen’s arrest.

Afraid to Go Outside

Fox stated that he and his family were afraid to go outside during the evening and his children were “fearful to play in both front and backyards.” His sleep was disturbed by her repeated appearances, he said, adding that he and his family were “tense and have impaired concentration owing to defendant’s mental history and threats.”

On the pre-printed legal form, the doctor was asked if Gracyalny’s conduct “would have caused a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress.” In response, Fox typed in the word “YES” in capital letters.

He also wrote that the woman had admitted harassing Fox to police officers.

The injunction signed by Judge Jones was not due to expire until March, 12, 1989.