A growing memorial can be seen outside of a medical clinic in Woodland Hills where a 61-year-old doctor was gunned down in what some believe may have been a targeted killing.  

The victim was identified as Hamid Mirshojae, a doctor who worked at the Warner Plaza Medical Center located at Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Oxnard Street. 

He was walking to his car on Aug. 23 when an unknown suspect approached him and shot him multiple times at around 5:34 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department. 

Witnesses heard gunshots and saw a body on the ground in the parking lot. Mirshojae was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. 

“He’s been full of love. He’s been full of care,” Khedhar Quintero, a former patient, told KTLA’s Chris Wolfe. “He doesn’t care that you’re just another number in his lobby, he cares about your future as well.”  

Many of his patients referred to him simply as Dr. Hamid. 

“He’s been my doctor for 15 years, he made me feel better,” Gloria Sera told KTLA. “He was from Iran, and I don’t know if he was telling me the truth, but last time I came, he said he had just gotten married.”  

Close friends tell KTLA that the doctor’s wife and 6-month-old baby were in Turkey with family at the time of the deadly shooting. Mirshojae also reportedly has three children from a previous marriage.  

According to an online biography, the doctor had more than two decades of experience providing urgent and emergency care and more than 10 years in addiction medicine.  

“His patients include celebrities, movie stars, athletes and many people from different walks of life,” the bio noted.  

“He helped a lot of people with detox,” Quintero said. “Who knows what they could’ve been going through. He could’ve changed something in their life. He could’ve done something different that they didn’t like, and someone wanted him removed from this world unfortunately.”

Speculation around the killing is that Mirshojae was gunned down in a targeted fashion and authorities appear to be following that theory in their investigation.  

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call LAPD’s Valley Bureau homicide detectives at 818-374-9550. 

During non-business hours or on weekends, calls can be directed to the LAPD at 877-527-3247. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or go directly to lacrimestoppers.org. 

In order to fix its budget deficit, the City of Orange has elected to slash funding for several sectors, including the school crossing guard program. 

The city is responsible for filling the positions, and there were 14 part–time crossing guards at schools across the city – but not all – before the program was cut. 

According to city officials, not having the crossing guards saves Orange around $425,000 a year. 

It’s not just patrols outside schools that have been nixed; Orange has also cut out some annual events to save money, including the city’s annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony.   

Orange Mayor Dan Slater told KTLA’s Chip Yost that they also reduced funding for the library and essentially had a “hiring freeze” and were simply not filling open positions in an attempt to reduce spending. The cuts have saved the city about $5.5 million, which still doesn’t cover the entire $19 million deficit. 

“[The deficit] is not anything new – we’ve had budget deficits going back to about 2010 – but we are finally trying to address that,” Mayor Slater said. “Tough times call for tough measures, and we can’t spend money we don’t have.” 

Budget cuts aren’t the only tactic officials are using to minimize the deficit. City residents will be able to vote on a citywide sales tax increase on the November ballot to raise more revenue. 

Officials also said they are looking for sponsors for events such as the annual Christmas tree lighting so that they can keep community traditions alive. 

Police have issued a warning to residents in West Los Angeles, including the neighborhoods of Bel-Air, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades and Westwood to take extra caution due to a rise in residential burglaries.

Three masked suspects seen on surveillance video attempting to break into a Bel-Air home on Roscomare Road Saturday is the most recent incident where police say thieves targeted an upscale neighborhood.

Investigators believe as many as six suspects armed with tools were involved in the attempted burglary but were scared off by Los Angeles police responding overhead.

The suspects fled the area before officers arrived at the home.

In Brentwood on Friday two male suspects broke into a home in the 300 block of South Bunday around 10:30 p.m.

The suspects did gain entry and got away with items taken from the home.

Another Brentwood home was hit earlier this month as well. On Aug. 15, police responded to a home on San Vicente Boulevard where thieves broke in.

It was unclear if the residents were home at the time of the two Brentwood incidents.

Burglars at another Bel-Air home were chased off shortly after gaining entry on Aug. 8. but it was unclear if any items were taken.

The incidents have prompted the LAPD to issue an alert warning residents about organized crews of usually two to four males taking jewelry, handbags and cash from homes.

The burglars have been known to ransack rooms looking for valuables and often have a getaway car parked outside with someone acting as a lookout, the Santa Monica Mirror reported.

The getaway vehicles are often rentals with dealer plates or stolen plates, according to police.

Burglars may also be using wifi jammers to interrupt the signal or residential security cameras and use handheld radios to communicate, the Mirror reported.

Residents were given several suggestions to increase their home security:

• Install surveillance systems
• Secure sliding glass doors
• Bolt down safes, add GPS trackers
• Join watch programs
• Check for hidden recording devices

Residents were also urged to share information with neighbors and be on the lookout for drones in the neighborhood.