A 67-year-old man fatally shot in the unincorporated Antelope Valley community of Llano was a Caltech research scientist, the institution confirmed Thursday.
The shooting was reported about 6:10 a.m. Sunday on the 30700 block of 165th Street East, according to the Sheriffâs Information Bureau.
Deputies responding to a 911 call reporting an assault with a deadly weapon found the victim on the front porch suffering from a gunshot wound, authorities said.
Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
He was identified Tuesday by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner as Carl Grillmair.
A Caltech confirmed to City News Service Thursday that Grillmair was a research scientist at the institution.
According to his Caltech online biography, his work included research using NASAâs Spitzer Space Telescope and focused on galactic structure, dark matter and stellar populations.
âWhile investigating the shooting call, Palmdale Sheriffâs Station deputies also responded to a carjacking call in the same area,â according to a sheriffâs department statement.
The man suspected of committing the carjacking âwas arrested for that charge and is currently a person of interest only in the murder investigation,â the statement said.
Anyone with information about the shooting was asked to call the Sheriffâs Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or lacrimestoppers.org.