A May 2025 private after-hours sale at a Santa Monica, CA sneaker store ended in deadly gunplay.
Santa Monica Police responded to a call at Sole & Laces after a report of shots fired and assault with a deadly weapon. The owner of the business was hosting a private after-hours sale when someone entered the establishment and attacked the business owner with what law enforcement described as a “chemical irritant.”
Police said that the irritant was delivered via a spray.
A scuffle then ensued and the business owner/victim shot the suspect with a legally owned firearm, indicated in a statement from the SMPD.
The attempted robbery has the appearance of an inside job as the associate who arranged the sale, 41-year-old Karen Melikyan of Hollywood, CA, was taken into custody on charges of homicide, robbery and conspiracy.
The Santa Monica Police said, All evidence suggests this was a targeted incident, the individuals are known to each other. There is no ongoing threat to the public.”
The suspect died at a local hospital. The owner was physically unharmed and is cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
