A tragic West Hollywood nurse who was shot by stray bullets before a SWAT standoff last month has died of her injuries while also battling terminal cancer, her son says.
Larisa Pereshivaylova, 57, was in the hospital for her gunshot wounds when she was diagnosed with stage four liver cancer, but her shooting condition was too severe for her to be treated for the cancer, the victim’s 21-year-old son, Max Budyakov recently told KTLA.
About a week ago, “she asked me — I’m fairly certain these were her last words — she said, ‘Don’t you think it’s time for me to go, for you to let me go?’ ” Budyakov recalled.
Pereshivaylova had been making breakfast in her kitchen at the Dylan Apartment Complex in California around 8 a.m. April 7 when gunfire erupted in an apartment across the hall.
Her neighbor, 31-yer-old Joshua Findley, had allegedly opened fire inside his unit for an unknown reason, with multiple rounds piercing the wall into her apartment and striking the innocent woman twice, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office.
“She was shot through her liver, through her right kidney, and the bullet got lodged in her spine,” the victim’s 21-year-old son, Budyakov told the TV outlet.
A second bullet struck Pereshivaylova in the neck, but she remained conscious and called 911.
Los Angeles nurse Larisa Pereshivaylova, 57, died Sunday night, more than a month after being shot twice inside her West Hollywood apartment. GoFundMe
A SWAT team responded to the shooting in Santa Monica Boulevard on the morning of April 7. KNBC
A neighbor living across the hall from Pereshivaylova opened fire, with several bullets piercing the wall of her apartment. KNBCAs paramedics rushed the wounded nurse to the hospital, a SWAT team raided the apartment complex, beginning what would become a nine-hour standoff involving helicopters and drones.
When cops finally breached Findley’s apartment, they discovered that he had escaped.
The 31-year-old suspect, who had two outstanding warrants against him at the time for unrelated parole violation and weapons charges, was arrested more than a month later.
He is considered a person of interest in Pereshivaylova’s shooting.
Pereshivaylova’s son, Max Budyakov, shows how his mother was standing in her kitchen making breakfast when she was shot twice by stray bullets. KNBC
Shooting suspect Joshua Findley, 3, was arrested in early May, after more than a month on the lam. Los Angeles County Sheriff's DepartmentWhile Pereshivaylova was being treated for her gunshot wounds at the hospital, she was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer, her son said.
Because of the severity of her injuries, doctors were unable to begin treating her cancer, he said.
“We couldn’t even start any treatment because her condition was not stable from the shooting,” the son said in an interview with NBC Los Angeles.
Pereshivaylova, who had immigrated to the US from Russia more than two decades ago and raised her son alone in Los Angeles, died Sunday night.
Budyakov (here with his mother) said that while his mom was in the hospital for her gunshot wounds, she was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer. Courtesy of FamilyBudyakov recounted his final heartbreaking conversation with his mom a week ago, before she lost her ability to speak, in which she told it was time to let her go.
The son described his mother as compassionate and loving, and he said she wished to be remembered for her life of service as a nurse.
“She was my pillar of support, both mentally, emotionally, financially,” Buydakov said.
Pereshivaylova (here with her son Max) could not receive treatment for her cancer because of her gunshot wounds, her son said. Courtesy of FamilyThe son, who is a college senior and does not have a job, has launched a GoFundMe campaign seeking donations to pay for his mother’s medical and funeral expenses.
So far, more than $11,000 has been raised.
