A California doctor known for treating Hollywood stars was shot and killed in an ambush outside his Los Angeles clinic. Hamid Mirshojae, 61, was shot as he walked toward his car in the parking lot of Woodland Hills Medical Clinic and Urgent Care just after 5:30 p.m., an hour after he had closed the office on Friday.
The urgent and emergency care physician, who also treated drug and alcohol addiction, was shot at point-blank range before he even realized he was in danger, according to KTLA. Apart from low-quality CCTV footage, police have little idea on the motive or identity of the shooter and have asked the public for information.
Shot in Broad Daylight
The Los Angeles Police Department arrived 42 minutes later to find the 61-year-old physician with a gunshot wound next to his white SUV. Mirshojae, who was a primary care and emergency care doctor, was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to KCAL, multiple bullet casings were found nearby. The unidentified suspect fled the scene on foot.
The footage revealed that Mirshojae was walking toward his Lexus parked outside the clinic when the gunman emerged from the entrance and shot him without hesitation.
Police believe only one shooter was involved in the fatal attack but have not provided a description or motive, according to the outlet.
According to his work biography, Mirshojae's patients included "celebrities, movie stars, athletes, and many people from different walks of life"
He graduated from the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, was board-eligible in addiction medicine, and had over a decade of experience in the field of addictionology.
"He's been full of love. He's been full of care," former patient Khedhar Quintero told KTLA. "He doesn't care that you're just another number in his lobby, he cares about your future as well."
"He helped a lot of people with detox," Quintero added. "Who knows what they could've been going through. He could've changed something in their life. He could've done something different that they didn't like, and someone wanted him removed from this world unfortunately."
"He's been my doctor for 15 years, he made me feel better," Gloria Sera told the outlet. "He was from Iran, and I don't know if he was telling me the truth, but last time I came, he said he had just gotten married."
Police Clueless as Suspect on the Run
At the time of his assassination, Mirshojae's wife and six-month-old baby were in Turkey and are thought to be returning to the US. Mirshojae married for the second time in 2022 and had three adult children from his previous marriage.
His ex-wife, Ahang Zarin Kelk, paid tribute to the slain doctor online and announced a public memorial service scheduled for Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
"Hamid, the kids and I are in so much shock we miss you so bad," she wrote.
"He was always helping people seeing tens and thousands of patients for decades we fought HARD to make life happen starting from nothing in the apartment and still the world is so cold.
"He left the world with four beautiful children. We want to be strong in the face of evil to remember Hamid - father, husband, doctor and friend."
Mirshojae had been ambushed and beaten by three men with baseball bats outside the clinic just a few months prior to his murder. "They came and they beat him with baseball bats," an employee told the Los Angeles Times. "They were some strangers that we didn't know."
Detectives are aware of the earlier beating but have not determined whether it is connected to the fatal shooting, according to the outlet.
