Joe McMahon, ‘Deadliest Catch’ Producer, Dies At 24 Of Gunshot Wounds As Suspect Kills Himself: Update

Joe McMahon, a former associate producer for the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch, was shot near his California home at age 24. McMahon died of the gunshot wounds inflicted by what was an initially unknown suspect, reported MSN.

“We are heartsick about this tragedy — our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to all that knew and worked with him,” stated the Discovery network in its response.

Following their investigation, the L.A. County Sheriff’s Dept. discovered the suspect had killed himself. They found the 24-year-old suspected shooter in his own car.

The initial call about the shooting resulted in a response from deputies to Yorkshire Road. They discovered McMahon lying on the ground, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds that resulted in his death at the scene.

After Joe’s death, McMahon’s family revealed that he had been outside his home in response to a noise. When he was looking for the cause of the sounds, he was shot.

Joe worked as an associate producer on nine episodes of Deadliest Catch. During McMahon’s tenure on the show, it was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Program.

“The entire Original Productions family is heartbroken with this news,” said Philip D. Segal, CEO and EP at Original Productions. “Our thoughts and prayers are for the McMahon family.”

Newest Update To Joe McMahon’s Death Investigation

Joe and the man who shot McMahon and then subsequently killed himself were acquainted, investigators told NBC.

Brandon Rafiepour, a 24-year-old Armenian man from Los Angeles, was identified as the one who committed suicide after shooting Joe. McMahon and Brandon did know each other.

Those in the neighborhood and friends were shocked by the shooting. A friend said those who knew McMahon were stunned by the shooting.

“He’s a hard worker, been taking care of his family,” said Joe’s friend, Jonathan Merhaut. “As far as I know he has no ties to anything malicious. This is just a shock to everyone.”

A neighbor of McMahon’s revealed that her husband had been aware of gunshots.

“My husband said he heard shots last night about 2:15 and I didn’t believe him. He said he waited for sirens and didn’t hear anything,” revealed one neighbor, Joey Mueller. “I’m walking the dog this morning and I couldn’t get through, so I asked somebody, and they said it was a homicide.”

As the Inquisitr reported, investigators into the motive for the shooting of Joe initially revealed that they suspected neither drugs nor gang violence as the cause of McMahon’s death.

[Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images]