(NEW YORK) — A California man has been charged with murder in connection with a road rage shooting that killed a 4-year-old boy last week, prosecutors said.
Byron Burkhart, 29, is accused of pulling up alongside a vehicle and firing eight shots into the car while driving on the Sierra Highway in Lancaster on Friday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said.
Gor Adamyan, 4, was traveling with his parents when he was shot once while sitting in the backseat of the car, prosecutors said. He was transported to a local hospital where he died. His mother and father were uninjured.
Burkhart was charged on Tuesday with one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder, one count of shooting at an occupied vehicle, and five counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, the district attorney’s office said.
“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 Gascón said in a statement. “A family is facing unimaginable pain during what should be a joyous time this holiday season.”
The victim vehicle’s camera allegedly captured Burkhart’s vehicle’s license plate during the incident, prosecutors said.
He was booked at the Los Angeles County Jail on Sunday and is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 22. Prosecutors said they will ask that he be held on $5.075 million bail.
If convicted as charged, Burkhart will face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Burkhart was traveling with his girlfriend at the time of the incident, prosecutors said.
Alexandria Gentile, 27, was also booked at the Los Angeles County Jail on suspicion of murder in connection with the shooting, the sheriff’s department said in a statement to ABC News. She was released Tuesday afternoon, online jail records show. The district attorney’s office has not announced any charges against her.
Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.