BURBANK : Man Held in Shooting of Former Girlfriend

The son of a former Iranian diplomat was arrested Friday on suspicion of stalking and shooting his ex-girlfriend and another man in her Burbank home, authorities said.

Both victims, who were taken to separate hospitals in serious condition, helped police identify the gunman as Ali Keykavoussi, 28. Police said he is the son of a former ambassador who served under the Shah of Iran.

“He’s a jilted ex-boyfriend and had been somewhat stalking her in the last month. But we’re not exactly sure why he did it,” Burbank Police Sgt. Scott Wilson said.

Keykavoussi had tried repeatedly Thursday to contact his former girlfriend, Shari Rez, but to no avail, Wilson said.

Shortly before the shooting at 1:43 a.m. Friday, Rez’s present boyfriend reportedly tried to hang a bell on a gate outside her home in the 1300 block of North Keystone Street to serve as a warning in case Keykavoussi appeared.

Keykavoussi allegedly used a .38-caliber gun to shoot Rez, 28, in the neck and her boyfriend, Lawrence Lydick, 25, of Granada Hills, in the abdomen.

“It missed all his vital organs, and it looks like he’ll be OK,” said a woman who identified herself as Lydick’s mother. She said Lydick has been harassed and the victim of vandalism since he began dating Rez.

Rez was in intensive care Friday at Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills. Lydick, a locksmith and construction worker, was taken to County-USC Medical Center.

Keykavoussi was arrested at his parents’ Bel-Air home more than seven hours after the shooting, police said.