Six shot, four killed around the corner from my house...

[dd74]

People in my neighborhood wondered about this restaurant; why it was never open, and when on occasion, there was someone inside, they were dark, Middle-Eastern looking guys who drove large black Mercedes, BMW and Lexus sedans.

Thoughts of something shady going on in and around the restaurant were increased today when a gunman or gunmen shot six people, four of which were killed. Now, the gunman (gunmen) is/are at large, and my neighborhood is eerily quiet.

I luv L.A.

4 Dead in Valley Village Restaurant Shooting [Updated] - LAist

[pwd72s]

Don't profile...that's racist!

[dd74]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Don't profile...that's racist!

Maybe, but unavoidable in this neighborhood. Even the media's first question was "Armenian or Persian?"

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Don't profile...that's racist!

I totally agree.

As an owner of both a Mercedes and BMW, I am highly offended.

[911Rob]

one word....... "move"

[campbellcj]

Originally Posted by 911Rob

one word....... "move"

And in the meantime, arm thyself.

[speeder]

He doesn't need to move and he probably doesn't even need to arm himself. No one in L.A. just accidentally finds themselves mixed up with Russian mobsters or hanging out in their establishments. Things may be heating up in that world but it's a world that I am about as removed from as any of you guys in other states.

[speeder]

Even of you had been in the restaurant when it happened, you would not have been shot. (Most likely). This was not a robbery and it was not random.

Would have been one hell of a freaky experience, though...

[dd74]

Originally Posted by speeder

He doesn't need to move and he probably doesn't even need to arm himself. No one in L.A. just accidentally finds themselves mixed up with Russian mobsters or hanging out in their establishments. Things may be heating up in that world but it's a world that I am about as removed from as any of you guys in other states.

Denis has it correct. These guys (they've been identified as Armenian, btw), don't just let any bloke into their "club." Fairly stand-offish, in fact, to those not of their own ilk. So chances of getting mixed up with them are slim.

However...

The gunman escaped. LAPD has been canvasing the n'hood. One house north of mine has already been sectioned off because it was thought the gunman/gunmen made their way through there.

"Arm thyself" is not the worst advice heard in these parts.

[unclebilly]

And to think that I have never locked the doors on my house. Don't even know where the keys are.

[red-beard]

How is this possible? California has strict gun laws!

[dd74]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

And to think that I have never locked the doors on my house. Don't even know where the keys are.

It was that way here when I was a kid. My folks left the car keys in the ignition, left the windows open at night, the doors unlocked.

...not no more, though.

[dd74]

Originally Posted by red-beard

How is this possible? California has strict gun laws!

L.A. isn't California. L.A. may as well be its own country.

[URY914]

Maybe they didn't like the food?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

The diversity of L.A. makes it such a desirable place to live.

[ckissick]

How ironic, your location being "location, location, location".

My wife's Armenian, so I get to hang out with them a lot. They're the nicest, most gracious hosts you could meet. But the recent arrivals who were raised in Soviet Armenia? They're a bunch of crooks. We have nothing in common with them. Isn't communism great?

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by ckissick

But the recent arrivals who were raised in Soviet Armenia? They're a bunch of crooks. We have nothing in common with them. Isn't communism great?

After spending some time in Rural Siberia last year, you can really see how communism has corrupted normally honest people.

It's too bad but families have had to resort to underhanded dealings to survive the last few years of communism and the first few years of democracy and these 'dealings' are still at play.

The problem is when some of these people leave their homeland, they are presented with challenges in the new country and resort to the underhanded dealings they have become accustomed to.

Times are different then when my grand parents grand parents or my dad's grand parents emmigrated from Europe. Even as a society, we don't extend the same type of welcome we used to. These days we extend social services as a welcome but seldome do we welcome new comers into our homes and help them get settled like was once the norm.

[9dreizig]

Location location location......

Kinda ironic huh ?

[BeyGon]

Originally Posted by speeder

Even of you had been in the restaurant when it happened, you would not have been shot. (Most likely). This was not a robbery and it was not random.

Would have been one hell of a freaky experience, though...

Maybe, but do they want a witness?

[speeder]

There is nothing wrong with the location, unless you mean that restaurant specifically. Los Angeles is a HUGE city and like all huge cities has a lot to offer, both good and bad. I've been to some of your smaller cities and they lack the good part but still seem to have the bad part.

Valley Village, the area where this occurred, is a perfectly safe part of L.A. It is a nice, pleasant neighborhood where an act of violence such as this is probably a "once in 100 years" type of thing. The street where the restaurant is located is a commercial busy street. Like a lot of areas in American cities, the closer to the busy commercial street you are, the cheaper and schitier the residential RE is. Valley Village is not Beverly Hills or Pasadena by any means but it's far from a slum. Decent part of the valley.

I knew that it was Armenians, I said Russian as a short-hand. That's not a mistake you want to make in their presence. "People from the former Soviet Union" would have been more precise. I know a lot of Armenians, mostly in Los Angeles but some back in Minnesota as well. They are well-represented in the highest levels of achievement in American life, as well as the world. In the blue-collar world, a lot of people in the automotive repair industry are Armenian in L.A. I count several as friends and the only generalisation to be made about them is that they are some of the best people I've ever met. They are really sharply divided as a group between good, honest people and crooks but the good ones are as honest as the day is long. They are known for their word being absolutely iron-clad.

Here are a couple more articles about the shooting and the place where it happened:

4 men killed at Valley Village restaurant were targeted, LAPD says | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

This one has quotes from neighbors about the strangeness of that establishment before the shooting:

Police Believe Victims Were Targeted in Deadly Valley Restaurant Shooting - LAist