CA - Malibu Creek State Park Shooting, Tristan Beaudette, 35, 22 June 2018 *Arrest*

[RickshawFan]

And the guy sleeping in his hammock. Both shot at with a shotgun from 20 feet away. I wonder what type of weapon was used on Monday and Fridays incidents?

See my post(s) upthread about how the guy in the hammock could easily have been shot by accident.

 

[ttcRider]

I have done a great deal of camping. It is so pitch black when you look into a tent there is no deciphering what is just sleeping bag and what is a person. Plus unzipping that flap in the middle of the night makes enough noise that neighboring campers will hear it. So, unless a flashlight was used or it was just a fluke shot from outside the tent I can't see anyone just sneaking up on them. IMO

 

[Confusion]

I could be mistaken but I thought one article stated that he was shot once in the torso and no other wounds.

I believe it said at least one shot to the torso, but I could be mistaken.

I've had ever changing thoughts as I've read. In the beginning, I thought maybe someone had been out drinking or something and had gone back to the wrong site. When he entered the tent, either he saw TB lying there and thought he was an intruder and shot him or TB sat up and asked him what he was doing there and was then shot.

After hearing about the other shootings, I thought it might have been the same guy getting more confident or frustrated with each shooting. He could have been shooting from a bit closer each of the previous times, and finally just walked right up to a tent and shot the guy sleeping in it. The problem is that one shooting per year (and it sounds like one shot per shooting) doesn't really fit in with TB; in fact, it doesn't really fit in with anything I can come up with. The shooting on Monday would have fit with the other 2 (1 shot, 1 shooting per year), but TB was the second shooting in a week, not a year, and I don't believe he was shot with a shotgun. I could be wrong since I'm definitely no expert on guns, but I've always no shotguns to hit a fairly wide area. If my thinking is right, then it's likely that if he had been hit by a shotgun, at least a couple of pellets would likely have hit at least one of his daughters.

I think I need to hear a bit more before I go into my next possibility. All MOO

 

[crhedBngr]

Thing is, when you were disoriented in the dark, even hearing coyotes, did you have a shotgun with you? Did you shoot it off in the pitch black, not knowing what you were shooting at?

You've piqued my curiosity with the above statement.

I went googling for sunrise and sunset times in Los Angeles. According to the table I found, sunrise on 06/22 occurred at 05:43 a.m.

Tristan was shot at 4:45 a.m.

I know that is roughly a 1-hour difference, but the sky does tend to lighten up before actual sunrise. So, it was probably still dark, but not pitch black. There may have been some visibility around that time.

Here is a link with sunrise and sunset info. for Los Angeles in June.

Sunrise and sunset times in Los Angeles, June 2018

 

[Elle*Bee]

I have done a great deal of camping. It is so pitch black when you look into a tent there is no deciphering what is just sleeping bag and what is a person. Plus unzipping that flap in the middle of the night makes enough noise that neighboring campers will hear it. So, unless a flashlight was used or it was just a fluke shot from outside the tent I can't see anyone just sneaking up on them. IMO

When we camped with young kids, we had a little battery operated lantern with a dimmable switch. We’d have it on the lowest setting for the kids in case they woke in the night, so they wouldn’t be disoriented, start crying and disturb nearby campers. Just a possibility (until we learn otherwise).

 

[RickshawFan]

Hope we learn more about details like position and whether the two holes in tent are bullet holes.

From the photos in the article upthread, the tent was very tidily pitched, a very high quality tent, and owned by someone who knew what they were doing. If there are holes in that tent, they were made that night. An experienced camper would have fixed them before heading out on a trip.

That tent seems to have a rain fly. ( REI Co-op Kingdom 6 Tent for new version) If the holes on the fly line up with holes on the inside mesh, they almost certainly happened that night.

 

[carbuff]

When we camped with young kids, we had a little battery operated lantern with a dimmable switch. We’d have it on the lowest setting for the kids in case they woke in the night, so they wouldn’t be disoriented, start crying and disturb nearby campers. Just a possibility (until we learn otherwise).

Yes, we did that too.

When it's that dark, even a tiny little light gives a lot of illumination, once your eyes adjust.

How full was the moon that night? Was it cloudy?

 

[gitana1]

That does explain why they don't think the random gunshots are related...

Yeah. Seems more like a targeted execution rather than a random spree killer.

 

[RickshawFan]

Thing is, when you were disoriented in the dark, even hearing coyotes, did you have a shotgun with you? Did you shoot it off in the pitch black, not knowing what you were shooting at?

People get very jittery in the dark. No telling if an idiot might shoot randomly at a "coyote" in the dark. The guy in the hammock seems to have been stealth camping (off trail)—he was a wildlife biologist—so he was just out in the woods somewhere. There would have been no reason to expect that a noise of something moving around wasn't an animal.

I don't carry a gun for any reason. However, you can't even imagine how close those coyotes were! Freaky!

 

[RickshawFan]

It could’ve just been a crazy camper that got upset at TB for some simple reason. I had a terrifying experience while camping with my husband and bulldogs one year. It was four in the morning and this camper came to our tent and started screaming at me to wake my husband up and shut him up because she couldn’t sleep from his snoring. It had actually been my English bulldogs snoring but regardless, this lady was pissed. She said she had to wake up early and I needed to do something about it. We ended up putting our dogs in our car with the AC running so she could sleep. I wonder if he’s a snorer. Sounds crazy but you never know!

I'm sorry, but I don't think she was crazy. Lack of sleep can make you belligerent.

Snoring is a real problem in campgrounds, especially if they're in canyons. It echoes everywhere, on down the canyon. It can keep you awake all night. LOUD. I've heard a park ranger once tell a camper that the snoring had to stop.

 

[gitana1]

Can we not sneakily blame family? This is a victim friendly forum and I don't like that. Until we have something serious that points to family it seems kind of mean?

 

[crhedBngr]

Yes, we did that too.

When it's that dark, even a tiny little light gives a lot of illumination, once your eyes adjust.

How full was the moon that night? Was it cloudy?

We had low clouds and fog on that date, so visibility was probably not as good as when it is clear.

Here's a link to the weather on 06/22. Weather History for Malibu, California | Weather Underground

 

[SuziQ]

Well at least we know one thing. It was homicide. Not suicide or accident.

 

[RickshawFan]

Given the terrain at that campground, LE might have found footprints?

 

[creepcrusher]

I wonder if they'll put TB's wife and kids in protective custody. If I were her I would want some protection. This has got to be terrifying for her, regardless if they left her kids alone.

 

[ScorpioRising]

I agree with the likelihood that a nightlight was used considering the age of the kids which would have made them very visible at night and if it is indeed random then the light in the dark could have attracted attention. If the hole at the top is a bullethole I think he probably woke up by the first shot and was hit when he sat or stood up to check what is going on. If it was a shotgun how far would those bullets travel? The earlier case estimated 20 feet away from car. It seems like the same time frame for at least two of the incidents so iam leaning towards a connection and him being a random target.

 

[SuziQ]

Well if Tristen's shooting isn't related to the others. Malibu has a shooting problem on their hands.

 

[RickshawFan]

This new information just opened up a lot more scenarios. I just can’t see this being an accident. It seems targeted. Someone wanted him dead. But why do it with his children lying beside him?

They shot him and then just couldn't bring themselves to shoot the children? Didn't know the kids were there?

 

[creepcrusher]

They shot him and then just couldn't bring themselves to shoot the children? Didn't know the kids were there?

According to family they had been loud and out playing all day at the campsite. I think they probably knew the kids were there. Unless it was completely random with no motive.

 

[RickshawFan]

If the hole at the top is a bullethole....

Just curious.... How does a bullet hole end up in the roof of a tent? Would it have to have been shot from inside? Hit a branch and ricocheted? That tent is backed up into the scrubby tree.