Buddy Freed on $2 Million Bail in Antique Gun Homicide

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First police thought it was a tragic accident, but by Thursday, they were calling it a homicide.

Brian Russell Kaplon, 32, an NBC Universal digital distribution executive who grew up in Chatsworth, was shot in the chest March 18 with an antique gun, according to KCAL-TV. Kaplon was shot in the garage of friend David Andrew Armstrong, 32, in the gated community of Sorrento in Porter Ranch. He reportedly was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

By Wednesday, Kaplon's father, Joe, was told by police that his son's death wasn't what it seemed, the Los Angeles Times reported. Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office told the Times that Kaplon's death was determined to be a homicide.

Armstrong was charged with murder Thursday and was released after first raising $1 million bail and then raising a second $1 million, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office told the Times.

Joe Kaplon said Armstrong kept several guns and rifles in the house on the 20000 block of Vercelli Way. “Because of one of those guns I had to bury my son yesterday,” he told the Times.

The father of 2-year-old daughter Chloe Ilene, Brian Russell Kaplon and his wife, Kristi Danielle, were expecting twins in May. They made their home in Northridge.

The Chatsworth High School graduate, who attended UC Santa Barbara and earned his MBA degree at USC, had previously worked for several years as a CPA at Ernst & Young.

Armstrong is due to appear in court April 12.