On the evening of September 7, 2025, a tragic and violent event unfolded in the parking lot of a Best Buy on Walton Way Extension in Augusta, Georgia. Elizabeth Cui Domingo, a 74-year-old Filipino American female, was shot and killed during what was meant to be a routine custody exchange for her 5-year-old grandson. Her daughter, 37-year-old Melissa Cui Domingo, was also fatally shot during the encounter. Richmond County Sheriff's deputies responded to reports of gunfire shortly after 6 p.m.
and found both women with fatal gunshot wounds. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
The alleged shooter was identified as Melissa's 41-year-old ex-husband, Hajir Talebzadeh, who had arrived for the custody exchange of their son. The attack happened in front of the child, who was not physically harmed but witnessed the tragedy. Talebzadeh was taken into custody at the scene. He had sustained some injuries and was transported to a local hospital for treatment before being booked into the Richmond County jail. Authorities have described the double homicide as a domestic-related incident.
This violent act was preceded by a long and documented history of domestic abuse. In a tragic turn of events, the killings occurred just days after a Richmond County judge had ruled that Melissa Cui Domingo had acted in lawful self-defense when she shot Talebzadeh in 2021. Court records from that case revealed years of alleged abuse. Following the deadly shooting in the Best Buy parking lot, Hajir Talebzadeh was charged with two counts of murder and one count of cruelty to children in the first degree. The young boy was placed in the care of the Department of Family and Children Services in the aftermath of the incident.
