Police were searching Monday for a gunman who shot and killed a woman in a seemingly random attack as she walked with her boyfriend on a Hollywood street.
Carrie Jean Melvin, a 30-year-old production assistant, was killed Sunday night after a gunman approached her from behind and shot her in the back of the head, according to local ABC News affiliate KABC.
The incident happened shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday night as Melvin walked with her boyfriend on Sunset Boulevard and McCadden Place in the heart of Hollywood. Melvin was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect, described by police as a black male in his mid-20s wearing dark clothing and a dark hooded jacket, reportedly fled the scene in a black sedan, and remained at large Monday.
Melvin’s boyfriend and other people in the street were unharmed in the attack.
LAPD homicide detective John Skaggs told the Los Angeles Times that police are still searching for a motive in the shooting, as it did not appear to be related to a robbery attempt.
“We just don’t know,” Det. Skaggs told the paper. “On the one hand, she didn’t have any known enemies. On the other hand, it looks like it was directed toward her… We’re looking at all angles.”
According to the Daily Mail, Melvin worked as a production assistant for Frederic Golchan Productions from 2013 to 2015 and also worked as a bartender at two establishments in Pasadena and West L.A. She reportedly studied Film and Media Production at the University of California Santa Cruz.
“She was really kind of spreading her wings,” the victim’s father, Bernie Melvin, told the Times. “It’s an extreme loss to us. She had a lot to give, and her life was cut short.”
Some areas in Hollywood popular with tourists, including the Hollywood and Highland intersection, have seen an uptick in violence recently.
Anyone with information about the crime is urged to contact LAPD homicide detectives at (877)-LAPD-247 or (213)-382-9470.
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