Man Shoots Tenant, Kills Self, Police Say

After savagely beating his tenant with a lead pipe and then shooting her three times, a North Hollywood landlord fatally shot himself in the head Saturday, investigators said.

The woman, whom police describe only as a 42-year-old employee of Macy’s in Beverly Hills, is listed in critical condition at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills.

The landlord, Shirabad Edward Khangaldi, 67, died hours after he shot himself in the head, police said.

“His whole world was collapsing around him,” said Los Angeles Police Det. Mike Coffey, who is leading the investigation. “His wife had left him. He was an alcoholic, and his house was in foreclosure.”

Neighbors who witnessed the violence, which began just after 1 p.m. at a busy intersection near Riverside Drive and the Hollywood Freeway, said the woman’s screaming brought them out of their houses, at which time they saw Khangaldi beating the woman on the head and body with a lead pipe, Coffey said. Khangaldi then ran to the back of the duplex and returned with a loaded revolver, Coffey said.

After first threatening the neighbors, who retreated across Riverside Drive, Khangaldi shot the woman at close range three times and then turned the gun on himself, authorities said. But he missed twice, leaving bullet marks inside his nearby garage but apparently doing no harm to himself, according to investigators.

“He then walked to the rear of the house, reloaded his weapon, and shot himself once in the head,” Coffey said.

The victim apparently rented the front half of the converted house, while Khangaldi occupied the back, according to police and neighbors.

“They were both, individually, very nice,” said Justin McCartney, a neighbor who heard the gunfire. “But there was this animosity between them. I think Ed was trying to evict her.”

Investigators also believe that Khangaldi was attempting to evict the woman, but that was probably just one possible motive for his behavior.

“He apparently threatened his wife with the gun about a month ago, and she took their children and left him,” Coffey said. “He apparently was seeing his life collapse.”

Khangaldi and the victim have no criminal records, he said.

Because the victim’s family is believed to live in Iran, investigators said they are having difficulty reaching her relatives.

“It’s very sad, and strange,” said one investigator at the scene.