CA - Malibu Creek State Park Shooting, Tristan Beaudette, 35, 22 June 2018 *Arrest* #2

[Roadtripper]

Did you reserve a specific spot ahead of time or did you just make a reservation and were assigned your spot once you got there?

I think our site was assigned when we got there. We camped for many days in campgrounds from Washington down through California and some were pre-assigned and some were not. I don’t remember for sure how it was at MSP but I think they were assigned when we got there. I don’t have a certain site on my receipt.

 

[ScorpioRising]

I think our site was assigned when we got there. We camped for many days in campgrounds from Washington down through California and some were pre-assigned and some were not. I don’t remember for sure how it was at MSP but I think they were assigned when we got there. I don’t have a certain site on my receipt.

Thats what I thought from reading the description on their site. It made it sound like the spots are assigned once the camper gets there which in my opinion makes this look random rather than targeted.

 

[ScorpioRising]

Other than police..did you see any of the rangers around in the morning? Did you get to talk to the camp host?

 

[Roadtripper]

Other than police..did you see any of the rangers around in the morning? Did you get to talk to the camp host?

There were Rangers with the sheriff department personnel. The camp host was there as well. She was friendly and seemed surprised that this happened.

 

[pocketaccent]

Hmm.. 5-6 shots heard by Roadtripper but only two holes on the tent. Shooter was inside the tent then. ?????

 

[Roadtripper]

Hmm.. 5-6 shots heard by Roadtripper but only two holes on the tent. Shooter was inside the tent then. ?????

Not having experience with guns I can only guess, but could be possible that shots fired rapidly would have the same trajectory making it look like less holes? I really couldn’t say much about the positions of TB and the assailant in relation to the tent.

 

[margarita25]

My GUESS based on my experience with NOCO, is that IF this is a random shooter, it is possible IMO that there are other potential incidents to which we may not be privy to. Moo.

Furthermore, IF a random shooter, is he also a pyro?

Based on the report of a suspicious fire, which of course may or may not be linked, can we find any other suspicious fire incidents in the nearby area/timeframe?

There should be a fire dept incident response log out there, not that all incidents are contained in such logs (depending upon if the fire dept did indeed end up responding, etc).

Ps, carbuff, it was not me who suggested the texting idea, thanks for thinking of me though.

 

[pocketaccent]

Not having experience with guns I can only guess, but could be possible that shots fired rapidly would have the same trajectory making it look like less holes? I really couldn’t say much about the positions of TB and the assailant in relation to the tent.

Thank you so much again, Road, going to sleep now but you have provided us with some awesome, previously unanswered informations to us. Please keep in touch!

 

[sewwhat]

Thanks, all, for adding content.

 

[SoHelpMeGod]

Those poor kids. Iam so sad for his family too. So heartbreaking.

Yes, and his wife has to pick up the pieces and try to move forward. Her world was turned completely upside down !!

 

[Hatfield]

I’ve been following this thread with great interest. I was one of the other campers there when the murder happened. I’m not totally sure why it’s taken so long to hear from any of us. I was never told not to say anything about the case I think mostly I was quite shell shocked and reluctant to say anything after details were not told to the public. Since a camper has talked to People magazine I guess more of the story will come out. The main detail to me that has been missing and really separates this shooting from the others in the area is that what I heard was multiple shots fired rapidly. I thought I heard six shots but my wife and others said they heard five. To me it sounded like a semi-automatic as the shots came very quickly in a group. There would’ve been no time to react between the first shot and the last.

Thanks so much for sharing your story. Its very helpful.

 

[Hatfield]

Hmm.. 5-6 shots heard by Roadtripper but only two holes on the tent. Shooter was inside the tent then. ?????

Not necessarily. The shooter could have either missed his first few shots or maybe shot a few rounds at the other tent and missed and then moved to shoot at the final tent and found his target.

 

[passepartout]

Not having experience with guns I can only guess, but could be possible that shots fired rapidly would have the same trajectory making it look like less holes? I really couldn’t say much about the positions of TB and the assailant in relation to the tent.

Unlikely - unless the shooter was an expert shot.

From your description of the shots, it sounds like the murder weapon was a handgun and likely semiautomatic.

If you are training for accuracy or are a competitive target shooter, your goal is to have a tight 'group' of shots. Think of that as having all of your shots in the very center of the bulls eye area on the paper target. They will be close (if you're good) and there might be blank spots where you've shot out the black but you can almost always discern the number of individual shots.

This target is an example. These are not fired by a semi-auto. However, even with a semiautomatic, the tightness of the overall group would indicate the expertise of the shooter.

The multiple shot/handgun evidence really negates the theory that it was an idiot blindly firing his rifle/shotgun in the hills or a yahoo taking potshots from his vehicle. This was someone from within the campground, at close range, and looking to hit someone.

 

[Hatfield]

We didn’t spend a lot of time at the campground on the 21st. My family was on a road trip down the west coast. We setup camp in late afternoon, then left the grounds to go to Santa Monica pier. We arrived back a little before 10. We knew we couldn’t get back in to the campground after 10 as there would be spikes on the road and we didn’t have a whole lot of time to spare so I’m guessing we were one of the last vehicles in.
When I heard the shots, I grabbed my phone and the screen lit up and I am fairly certain that it was 4:27. I did not have phone service and turned off my phone screen quickly. My thoughts at that moment were that there was an active shooter in the park. I quickly dressed and tried to look out of the flaps in the tent door that I had let down for airflow. It was still extremely dark and I could not see anything. I heard a baby cry out and thought he or she must’ve been been awakened by the shots.
I listened by the door for any kind of movement and didnt hear much. I was afraid to leave my tent as I didn’t want to call attention to the fact that I was awake. My wife and four kids were all in the tent and I feared for our lives.
A little while later I heard a male voice call out “Help, somebody help me”. Almost immediately after that I heard a female voice say “shots fired” and assumed someone with phone service had called 911.
A very short time after that, the campground road was filled with SUVs and squad cars traveling very fast on the campground road, searching the area with spotlights. A fire truck showed up shortly after that, then an ambulance.
Sheriff deputies came and got statements from all campers and we were told that we couldn’t leave. If I remember correctly it was close to 1pm before we left. No one had come back to say we could leave but we saw other campers leaving so we tried to head out. We had to check with law enforcement as we left the park.

My goodness. So glad you and your family were safe. It does sound like you were very close to their tent.

If you dont mind trying to answer a few other questions when you see this. Listed them below.

My assumptions so far based on your information is the person was using a semi-automatic because of how quick you heard the shots. This helps us determine type of weapon. Based on size of hole(s) in tent we saw on a picture I am assuming most likely either a shotgun using slug or a rifle or possibly a handgun. I originally wasnt leaning to a handgun because its so difficult to be able to aim and actually hit the person in the head unless the shooter was right outside their tent which I suppose is possible if he snuck in there on foot.

(1)-I know you mentioned the shots were loud and I know its hard to guage sound. I have done lots of target practicing with others and one way to know the difference between a shotgun sound and a rifle sound is that a shotgun will sound more like an "explosion" where a rifle has more of a loud piercing sound and will have a tendency to echo more. A handgun sounds more like an "explosion" too but not as loud as a shotgun blast.

Based on that and if you had to take a guess would you be able to guess whether you think it was quick shotgun blasts or quick rifle shots or quick handgun rounds?

(2) Did LE search any of the campers or did you see anyone being searched or did you see LE going through their stuff?

(3) The evening before or the morning right after the shots did you happen to notice if the victims tent or any tents in his direction had lights on inside their tent?

Trying to figure out if he camped all night with a light on for his kids.

Thanks again for any information you can provide. It is very helpful and we understand you are just taking best guesses at any answers.

 

[Hatfield]

.....snipped for focus.......

This was someone from within the campground, at close range, and looking to hit someone.

I totally agree with this part.

 

[Hatfield]

There were Rangers with the sheriff department personnel. The camp host was there as well. She was friendly and seemed surprised that this happened.

More questions. LOL

Do the camp hosts stay and camp overnight in the park like other campers?

Is the place they stay close to the regular tent sites?

Do the camp hosts stay in tents too or do they have campers or a cabin or something?

How soon after the morning shooting did the camp hosts begin to show up? Were they there before other LE showed up?

 

[carbuff]

Hmm.. 5-6 shots heard by Roadtripper but only two holes on the tent. Shooter was inside the tent then. ?????

I think your conclusion is correct, but I wouldn't read too much into the holes part. Remember we have no official confirmation of two holes in the tent and some of us don't even see holes in the pictures. And given the limitations of the pictures, there could be holes that weren't visible as well.

 

[ScorpioRising]

Flyers were handed out yesterday according to Local Malibu article here
Malibu Creek State Park Shootings: Homicide Detectives Officially Reach Out to Monte Nido Community - The Local Malibu

 

[Hatfield]

Flyers were handed out yesterday according to Local Malibu article here
Malibu Creek State Park Shootings: Homicide Detectives Officially Reach Out to Monte Nido Community - The Local Malibu

Good. Finally they are at least involving the public more. A little late IMO but at least its being done.

The other thing I am disappointed about is if the link is showing the actual flyer then there is no warning about other shootings or shots in the area. Its misleading to people that have not kept up with the news. The flyer makes it sound like an isolated incident.

If we count back to all the random unsolved shooting incidents of cars and people within the past couple years we are well over 7 shootings I believe. I lost track after 6-7. The recent shots heard incidents were just a few days or weeks ago.

 

[gitana1]

My GUESS based on my experience with NOCO, is that IF this is a random shooter, it is possible IMO that there are other potential incidents to which we may not be privy to. Moo.

Furthermore, IF a random shooter, is he also a pyro?

Based on the report of a suspicious fire, which of course may or may not be linked, can we find any other suspicious fire incidents in the nearby area/timeframe?

There should be a fire dept incident response log out there, not that all incidents are contained in such logs (depending upon if the fire dept did indeed end up responding, etc).

Ps, carbuff, it was not me who suggested the texting idea, thanks for thinking of me though.

To me the number of shots is not the same as the other reports of shootings which only seem to be one.

Escalation or someone else?

Welcome Roadtripper. So glad you found us and thanks so much for all the info. I hope you'll stick around and not mind our questions!!