Landlord Attacked, Neighbor Killed Before Woman Shot Herself

Sheriff’s deputies are trying to determine why a San Clemente apartment dweller attacked her landlord with a baseball bat, fatally shot a neighbor and then killed herself Sunday night.

Investigators on Monday said Kim Tyler, 55, allegedly beat her landlord, former San Clemente City Councilman Tom Lorch, with a bat and began shooting when he ran from her apartment about 9:30 p.m.

A neighbor, Edward McQuown, 30, who had left his home to investigate, was shot and killed.

Officials said Lorch had gone to the apartment on West Avenida San Gabriel and South El Camino Real to make plumbing repairs. After a brief struggle, Lorch ran from the apartment and Tyler began shooting, officials said.

Investigators said they don’t know if Tyler aimed at McQuown, or if the bullets ricocheted off walls. Tyler then shot and killed herself on a grassy area near a walkway in the complex after setting fire to her apartment, officials said.

“It appears [McQuown] was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Hector Rivera said. “It’s very tragic.”

Two revolvers were found on Tyler.

On Monday, neighbors stood on their driveways, wandered on sidewalks, and shook their heads.

“You don’t expect it to happen here,” said Mika Landau, a neighbor of McQuown’s. “I know that if something was going on, Ed would stick his head out. He got caught in the middle of a bad situation.”

Landau described McQuown, who installed fountains in businesses and homes, as a good neighbor who enjoyed surfing and liked to work on Volkswagen cars.

Neighbors said they did not know Tyler well and that she was not sociable. They said they believe that the shooting was a freak occurrence.

“People around here just don’t do that stuff,” said Laura Pasqua, a neighbor, who passed by the apartment complex on Monday. “The lady just tripped.”

Officials said Lorch, 57, was called to the apartment to fix a leak in the bathroom.

But Lorch said he sensed something was wrong and became suspicious when he did not find a leak and Tyler demanded that he continue to look for one.

Lorch, who lives elsewhere in San Clemente, was treated for a head injury at a hospital and released.

“I don’t know what sparked the shooting,” he said.

As he fled the apartment, Lorch said he heard several shots but he continued running. “She shot at me twice at the door,” Lorch said, “and once at the stairs. I didn’t get hit, thank God. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me.”

The fire caused an estimated $90,000 in damage.