Two arrests have been made in the targeted killing of a beloved Woodland Hills doctor earlier this year outside of the clinic where he practiced medicine, officials announced Tuesday.
The victim, Dr. Hamid Mirshojae, 61, was ambushed by a single gunman outside the Warner Plaza Medical Center at Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Oxnard Street at around 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 24 as he was walking to his car.
His killer shot him multiple times before fleeing on foot to a waiting vehicle before police arrived.
Witnesses heard gunshots and saw the 61-year-old’s body on the ground in the parking lot. Paramedics declared him dead at the scene.
In a Los Angeles Police Department news release, homicide detectives said two suspects, identified as 41-year-old Tomball, Texas resident Evan Hardman and 40-year-old Reseda resident Rose Sweeting, have been arrested in connection with the targeted attack.
Both were arrested on Dec. 10 — Sweeting in the San Fernando Valley and Hardman in the greater Houston area, for murder, police said.
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Ashley Sweeting, 40, of Reseda and Evan Hardman, 41, of Tomball, Texas. (LAPD)
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Hamid Mirshojae, 61, is seen undated personal photo.
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Hamid Mirshojae, 61, is seen with his wife and their 6-month-old baby in a personal photo.
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Loved ones gathered near a growing memorial outside a Woodland Hills clinic honoring Hamid Mirshojae on August 24, 2024. (KTLA)
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A growing memorial seen outside a Woodland Hills clinic honoring Hamid Mirshojae on August 24, 2024. (KTLA)
Detectives did not provide a motive for the shooting, nor did they say if either one of the suspects knew Mirshojae or had ever been a patient of the doctor.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Mirshojae was attacked by three men who beat him with baseball bats “several months” before he was shot dead in front of his Woodland Hills practice.
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While the exact date of the assault was not specified, an employee told The Times that afterward, Mirshojae was fearing for his life.
“They came and beat him with baseball bats,” the employee, who requested anonymity out of concern for her safety, told The Times. “They were some strangers we didn’t know.”
It is currently unknown if that incident was related to the fatal shooting.
Originally from Iran, Mirshojae had more than two decades of experience providing urgent and emergency care and more than 10 years in addiction medicine. According to his bio, his patients included “celebrities, movie stars, athletes and many people from different walks of life.”
His wife was reportedly visiting family overseas in Turkey with the couple’s 6-month-old baby at the time of the shooting. It was reported that she quickly flew back to the U.S. when she learned of her husband’s murder.
The investigation into the deadly shooting is ongoing and detectives released photos of Hardman and Sweeting in hopes that anyone who has been victimized by the suspects will come forward.
Homicide detectives will present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration.
Anyone with information about the investigation is urged to contact LAPD’s Valley Homicide at 818-374-9550. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477 or leave tips online at www.lacrimestoppers.org.
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