Shooting Death of Businessman Stuns Neighbors : Crime: Slaying of medical firm founder in Balboa Coves home puzzles detectives.

Residents of the quiet, gated community of Balboa Coves are reeling from the death of their neighbor, a millionaire businessman who was shot repeatedly in the chest at his home Thursday.

No arrests had been made by Saturday. Detectives are puzzling over who may have wanted to kill William Francis McLaughlin, the 55-year-old founder of a medical research firm.

“It’s the first time something like this has happened,” said Stan Love, 74, a neighbor of McLaughlin’s for more than 20 years. “Many people are anxious about what’s happening. We don’t know if it was random or what.”

McLaughlin’s body was found just after 9 p.m. Thursday by his son, Kevin, 24, on the first floor of the family’s six-bedroom home. Police said the younger McLaughlin told them he was upstairs when he heard several shots.

A neighbor, William Kennedy, said he had dozed off during an “I Love Lucy” rerun and was awakened when another neighbor called asking if he had heard what he thought were five gunshots.

Kennedy was stunned. In his 45 years in Balboa Coves, the retiree recalled a few robberies, but nothing more.

He said he often saw McLaughlin jogging with his golden retriever and that the two sometimes made small talk. “I never knew anything more about him,” Kennedy said.

Others described McLaughlin as a good neighbor and a caring father who seemed to have a close relationship with his son. For the past four years, after getting a divorce from his wife of 24 years, McLaughlin and his son shared the house.

Neighbors said Kevin McLaughlin was hit by a drunk driver while skateboarding several years ago and spent several months in a coma.

“Kevin used a walker for a while, but he still doesn’t do too well,” Love said. “(His father) had gone out of his way to take care of him. We had a Christmas party on the 10th. He and his son were there.”

McLaughlin also is survived by two daughters, Jennifer and Kimberly, who is an English teacher in Japan, Love said.

McLaughlin had served on the board of directors for the Balboa Coves Community Assn. in the 1980s and was “always interested in helping with what he could,” Love said.

McLaughlin made his millions after founding Hemascience Laboratories Inc, which was purchased by Baxter Healthcare Corp. of Illinois in 1986. About 15 years ago, the company had gained attention for developing a now-widely used device to filter plasma from the blood, said Bill Barry, McLaughlin’s neighbor of 22 years.

“At that time, we were all rejoicing with him,” Barry said. “He was a good man. I think the whole thing is just tragic and heartbreaking.”