Hayk Yegnanyan was 25 when he was fatally shot on April 3, 2010, at the Hot Spot café in the Valley Village/North Hollywood area of Los Angeles. He was one of four men killed during a memorial gathering at the Mediterranean-style restaurant; three victims, including Yegnanyan, were pronounced dead at the scene and a fourth died at a hospital. Two other men were wounded and survived.

Investigators concluded the volley of gunfire was intentional and the victims were targeted. Ballistics and eyewitness accounts suggested multiple shooters might have been involved, though security footage did not show the shooter inside the café. Authorities said the attacker fired about fifty shots, and that the suspect left, retrieved a firearm from his vehicle, returned, and opened fire. Ballistic evidence indicated roughly thirty rounds struck people inside, some while victims were seated.

A suspect, Nerses Arthur Galstyan, was arrested in April 2010 and later tried on multiple murder and related charges naming Yegnanyan among the victims. The defense said Galstyan acted in self-defense after a dispute; prosecutors portrayed the shooting as deliberate. The jury convicted Galstyan and recommended life in prison without parole.