Couple’s trip to grocery store ends with 4-year-old son shot dead in road rage attack

A routine trip to the grocery store turned into a fatal road rage incident Friday, leaving 4-year-old Gor Adamyan shot dead in the back of his parents’ car, authorities said.

Gor and his parents were driving to a grocery store in Lancaster around 7:30 p.m. when they allegedly were cut off by Byron Buckhart, 29, and Alexandria Gentile, 27, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

They allegedly chased the family through the streets of Lancaster, authorities said.

The Sheriff’s Department announced Monday the arrests of Buckhart and Gentile on suspicion of homicide. The two have not yet been charged by the Los Angeles County district attorney.

An individual shot eight times into the Adamyans’ car, according to a spokesperson for the Adamyan family. Three of those shots hit the 4-year-old sitting in the backseat. Gor died Saturday morning at a hospital.

The Sheriff’s Department did not release details on who the suspected shooter was or how many shots were fired.

“It was clear road rage,” said Miguel Coronado, who is working as a spokesperson for the grieving family.

Coronado gave a slightly different narrative from the Sheriff’s Department, saying that it was the family that accidentally cut off Buckhart and Gentile, not the other way around.

“Apparently the family accidentally cut them off. They started following the family. Got in front of them, continuously harassing them. The woman at that time reached for the gun, handed it to the shooter,” he said.

Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris said that dash cam video was key to cracking the case. The camera picked up part of the suspects’ plate, he told Fox11-TV.

“Once we had part of the plate, we could track it, and we tracked it to a hotel,” Parris said.

Parris also said he wished that authorities had “shot them at the apprehension,” referring to the suspects.

Gor was at home with his 16-year-old brother and parents Friday when the parents announced they were going to get groceries.

While the parents, Meri Adamyan and Levon Tantushyan, were planning to go alone to the store, Gor began to cry and did not want to remain home, according to Coronado.

The parents decided to take the boy with them.

“The little boy started crying. They relented and took him with them. They are devastated they took him with them,” Coronado said.

In a GoFundMe seeking contributions to help pay for the child’s funeral, the family described Gor as “vibrant,” with a “bright spirit.”

Little was immediately known about the suspects in the case.

A Facebook page that appears to belong to Buckhart featured posts as recent as Friday.

Gentile has a criminal record in Los Angeles dating back years. In 2016, she was sentenced to probation in a domestic violence case. She was charged with causing physical violence to a domestic partner.

As part of her probation, she was ordered not to possess a firearm for 10 years.