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 in the 30700 block of 165th Street East, according to the Sheriff’s 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.
Caltech confirmed to City News Service on Thursday that Grillmair was a research scientist at the institution.
According to his Caltech online biography, his work included research using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and focused on galactic structure, dark matter and stellar populations.
“While investigating the shooting call, Palmdale Sheriff’s Station deputies also responded to a carjacking call in the same area,” according to a sheriff’s department statement.
The suspect, 29-year-old Freddy Snyder, was initially detained but was subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder, carjacking, and burglary, according to the sheriff’s department.
He was being held on $2 million bail.
Anyone with information about the shooting was asked to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or lacrimestoppers.org.