Harut Baburyan, a 28‑year‑old male of Armenian ethnicity, was fatally shot on April 3, 2010, at approximately 4:30 p.m., inside the Hot Spot Mediterranean Café located on Riverside Drive in the Valley Village area of North Hollywood, Los Angeles. Law enforcement described this incident as an assassination‑style attack in which multiple gunshots were fired, resulting in four men being killed, including Harut Baburyan: he, along with two other men—Sarkis Karadjian, 26, and
Hayk Yegnanyan, 25—were pronounced dead at the scene, while a fourth victim, Vardan Tofalyan, 31, died later at a hospital.
Investigators emphasized that the killings appeared targeted and were not a random act of violence. Authorities noted that all six men present were known to one another in some way. The number of shots fired suggested multiple gunmen may have been involved, though this was uncertain. A security video from the café failed to reveal the interior or identify a suspect.
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Police investigation revealed that Harut Baburyan was among four Armenian males killed at what seemed to be a gathering—a memorial celebration earlier in the day—to honor someone who had died a year prior in a traffic accident. During the gathering at the Hot Spot Café, a dispute broke out between guests; this escalated when the suspected gunman left, retrieved a firearm from his car, returned, and opened fire with dozens of shots, killing four and wounding two others.
Baburyan, the 28‑year‑old male victim, had a prior criminal record: in 2000, he was convicted of receiving stolen property, for which he served 18 days in jail and received five years of probation. In a separate incident in 2006, he pleaded no contest to illegal possession of a semi‑automatic weapon and was sentenced to 16 months in prison.
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Soon after the massacre, Los Angeles authorities identified a suspect: Nerses Arthur Galstyan, also 28 and of Armenian descent, believed to be the shooter. Police asserted that Galstyan had been part of the memorial gathering and became embroiled in a verbal dispute with several individuals, which triggered the deadly shooting. The attack was characterized as intentional and not random.
Days later, on April 20, 2010, Nerses Galstyan and his brother, Samuel Galstyan, were apprehended in Kenmore, Washington, by U.S. Marshals. The brothers were arrested in connection with the quadruple murder; the precise role of Samuel remained unclear at the time.
In addition to the murder charges, Nerses Galstyan faced federal indictment for illegal weapons dealings—specifically, dealing in firearms without a license and possessing firearms with obliterated serial numbers. He allegedly sold semiautomatic rifles to a confidential informant and had offered more rifles with 8-inch barrels for sale.
The prosecution argued that the shooting stemmed from personal anger, with Galstyan feeling disrespected by the victims. Alternatively, defense counsel later raised a self‑defense claim, suggesting Galstyan and his brother were provoked and threatened ‑ though this argument was ultimately rejected at trial.
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Years later, in 2016, a jury convicted Nerses Arthur Galstyan of first‑degree murder for two of the killed men, and second‑degree murder and voluntary manslaughter for the other victims, along with additional counts related to injuries of surviving victims and mayhem. He fired more than 50 rounds, with 30 bullets recovered in the victims’ bodies. The jury’s verdict allowed prosecutors to pursue the death penalty during sentencing but ultimately the court sentenced him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
In particular, one appellate court later upheld the conviction, affirming that Galstyan indeed acted without provocation and initiated the attack inside the restaurant—effectively rejecting the self‑defense claim—and sentencing him to life in prison for the unprovoked mass shooting in which Harut Baburyan, the 28‑year‑old male victim, was killed along with three other men.
