Man Kills Girlfriend, Himself on Busy Street

An armed man chased his longtime girlfriend through her Studio City workplace Tuesday and onto a busy street, where he fatally shot her in front of morning commuters and then shot and killed himself.

The Los Angeles couple had accumulated a history of domestic troubles during their 13 years together, police said, and leave behind three children, ages 5, 8 and 11.

Apolonio Alvarado, 40, apparently followed Diane Cortez, 31, to the Medstar Foot & Ankle Center in the 4300 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, said Los Angeles Police Sgt. Mike Coffey. About 8 a.m., the couple were talking in the office’s back parking lot when Alvarado fired a shot.

Cortez ran screaming through the back door of the Medstar office, warning her co-workers that Alvarado had a gun.

Police said Alvarado chased Cortez out the front door.

She ran into busy traffic lanes on Laurel Canyon, followed by Alvarado, who shot her three times before killing himself, police said.

Salvation Army driver Doug Blassingame was stopped at a red light at Moorpark Avenue when he saw the shooting.

“They were running across the street and he was shooting at her,” Blassingame said. “He shot her three times and then he shot himself.”

Carlos Naranjo, who was working on a construction project at a nearby gas station, said the street was filled with rush hour traffic. “It was luck that no one else got hurt,” he said.

Several motorists stopped to call 911. “Everybody was trying to do their part,” Naranjo said.

It was the second shooting in three days at a busy public place in the San Fernando Valley. On Sunday, one man was killed and two people seriously injured during a gun battle between robbers and armored truck guards in front of the Costco store in Van Nuys.

Cortez was employed at Medstar for six years, first as a clerk, most recently as the person who scheduled appointments and surgeries.

“She was like a daughter to me,” said her boss, Dr. Allen Selner. “She was a wonderful, hard-working, sweet person.”

He said the couple was mismatched.

“She was a sweet, bright young woman and he was a loser,” Selner said.

Co-workers knew the relationship was troubled and had offered to help Cortez get away from Alvarado. Prosecutors had no record of domestic violence prosecutions against Alvarado.

“We kept asking if she needed any help. She kept saying ‘I can handle it,’ ” Selner said. Abby Leibman, executive director of the California Women’s Law Center, said the scenario described by the victim’s co-workers is not uncommon. Frequently victims of domestic violence believe they do not need help.

“By holding back, women put themselves in more serious jeopardy,” Leibman said.

Selner said he has set up a fund for the couple’s three children. Donations may be sent to: Alvarado Children, Attention: Priority Banking, Bank of California, 16633 Ventura Blvd., Encino, CA 91436. Checks should be made out to Jennifer, Kelly and Brad Alvarado.