By Cindy Von Quednow
A man has been charged with murder in the killing of a 4-year-old boy who was shot during a suspected road rage incident while sitting in the back seat of his family’s car in Lancaster last week, authorities said.
The suspect, 29-year-old Byron Burkhart, also faces two counts of attempted murder, one count of shooting at an occupied vehicle and five counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, according to the criminal complaint obtained by CNN.
Burkhart was traveling with his girlfriend on Dec. 15 when he allegedly cut off a vehicle carrying the boy and his parents on the 44600 block of Sierra Highway, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday in a news release.
Burkhart allegedly “engaged in aggressive driving maneuvers and road rage” before pulling up next to the family’s car and firing eight shots into the vehicle, hitting the child, the district attorney’s office said.
The boy was struck once and taken to a hospital, where he later died, authorities said. His parents were not injured in the shooting.
The child was identified as Gor Adamyan by the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office.
Gor was a vibrant boy with “a bright spirit,” a GoFundMe page set up for his family said.
The family was on their way to buy groceries when the shooting happened, according to the fundraiser.
“On that fateful day, as Gor’s parents were en route to purchase groceries, an encounter with a suspect driver escalated into an unthinkable tragedy,” organizers wrote on the fundraising page.
Burkhart’s vehicle’s license plate was captured by a camera in the family’s vehicle, the district attorney’s office said.
Burkhart and his girlfriend were later both arrested, but the girlfriend was released after prosecutors determined there wasn’t enough evidence to charge her, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Mike Gomez told CNN.
Burkhart is being held on $2 million bond and is scheduled to be arraigned on January 22, county inmate records show. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted as charged.
Burkhart is being represented by the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office, and spokesperson Dana Boldt said her office will provide a “vigorous defense” and hold the district attorney’s office to the burden of proof.
“Our hearts ache for the tragic loss of a young life in such a devastating and senseless act of road rage,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said. “A family is facing unimaginable pain during what should be a joyous time this holiday season.”