LOS ANGELES — As detectives searched Monday for two men wanted in a botched holdup at the Costco store in Van Nuys, Calif., friends mourned the death of a 29-year-old shopper caught in the gunfire.
Owen Alexander Wolf of Studio City, a production assistant and aspiring sitcom writer, was near the store entrance when an armed courier returned to his truck with a money pickup, about 2:30 Sunday afternoon. That's when a gunman yelled out, "This is a robbery," and began shooting.
Wolf was hit in the head by one of about 30 bullets, said Lt. Jim Grayson of the LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division. He died at Valley Presbyterian Hospital a short time later.
Two other shoppers were shot and wounded.
Wolf was a production assistant for the CBS drama "C.S.I." (Crime Scene Investigators) scheduled to premiere this fall. He spent last season as a production assistant on the WB series "Felicity."
"He was a sweet guy. He was really nice, unassuming and always working. It's just a shock," said one of Wolf's neighbors, Hope Shapiro.
A 57-year-old man and his 51-year-old wife shopping at the store on Sepulveda Boulevard remained hospitalized with life-threatening gunshot wounds Monday, Grayson said.
Two other people were taken to hospitals — a 20-year-old woman who had minor scrapes and a 37-year-old woman who fainted, police said. Both were treated and released.
One of the three robbery suspects, Ramon Gutierrez, 38, of Tijuana, was wounded in his left leg and arrested after driving away in a white van. His injuries were not life-threatening, police said.
The two remaining suspects were still at large Monday, police said. Both are described as Latinos between 25 to 35 years old. One is about 5 feet 11 inches, 200 to 235 pounds. The other is about 5 feet 9 inches and 160 pounds.
A Pico Rivera-based Sectran Security Inc. courier was doing a routine pickup at Costco when two men with automatic rifles approached, said LAPD Officer Don Cox.
The men began exchanging gunfire with the courier as about 75 customers scurried for cover and parents grabbed their children.
The guard scrambled back to his truck and was not hit by the gunfire.
"He's the luckiest person alive. I don't see how he wasn't hit with so many bullets being fired," Grayson said.
A third person driving the van picked up the two suspects and drove off. The wounded man was arrested after being spotted by an off-duty LAPD officer, but the other two suspects were not found.
Wolf had moved to Southern California from his hometown in Philadelphia to get into the film industry, friends said.
"He was into writing. He wanted to develop a sitcom," said one co-worker, Sharon Eldridge.
His duties as a production assistant entailed driving to film sets to distribute scripts and running errands, co-workers and friends said.
"He wasn't necessarily thrilled with his position, but he knew it was a stepping stone, and he did his work more often with a smile on his face," said another co-worker and friend, Gregg Pallini. "I'm just having a hard time even being able to grasp how something like this could happen."
Carol Mendelsohn and Jim Hart, executive producers of "C.S.I.," released a statement after learning of Wolf's death.
"We knew Owen for too short a time. We are deeply saddened," they said. "He was an amazing young man with a vibrant personality who showed great promise for the future. It is everyone's loss, and we particularly send our heartfelt sympathy to his family and friends."