London war photographer Paul Lowe ‘killed by teen son’ on LA hiking trail, police say

A London war photographer was stabbed to death while hiking in California with his teenage son - who has now been charged with his murder.

Paul Lowe, who covered conflicts including the Bosnian war, the fall of the Berlin Wall and Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, was found dead on October 12 in the San Gabriel Mountains, in LA.

The 60-year-old had been stabbed in the neck, records at the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner show.

Mr Lowe’s 19-year-old son Emir has been charged with one count of murder and was to appear in a US court on Wednesday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said, but the hearing was delayed.

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They said there was no additional information at the time but that the investigation was ongoing.

According to police, the incident happened at around 3.28pm local time at Mount Baldy Road, near Stoddard Canyon Falls.

A statement from the sheriff’s department said officers responding to an assault with a deadly weapon call found a “white male adult suffering trauma to his upper torso”.

It added: “San Bernardino Fire Department personnel responded and pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

“A white male adult was seen driving away from the scene and was subsequently involved in a solo traffic collision a few miles away. The male was detained pending further investigation."

King’s College London, where Mr Lowe was a visiting professor in war studies, said the award-winning photojournalist would be “deeply missed”.

A statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, read: “It is with deep sadness that we received the news of Professor Paul Lowe’s passing.

“Paul was a Visiting Professor in the Department of War Studies, a Professor of Photojournalism at the University of the Arts London, and an award-winning photojournalist with VII Academy. A friend, colleague and collaborator whose work had a huge impact in shining a spotlight on the Siege of Sarajevo and addressing its legacy, we were privileged to work with him on several projects related to art and reconciliation.

“His boundless energy, warmth, creativity, initiative and enthusiasm were contagious and uniquely inspiring. He will be deeply missed.

“We send our deepest condolences to his family at this difficult time.”

Santiago Lyon, former vice president and director of photography at The Associated Press (AP), paid tribute to Mr Lowe, having worked with him during the siege of Sarajevo in the early 1990s.

According to AP, Mr Lyon said: “Paul was a very talented, courageous and committed photojournalist who repeatedly put himself in harm’s way to show the world the reality of war zones and humanitarian crises around the world.

“He then became an accomplished and well-respected educator dedicated to preparing future generations of photojournalists.

“His untimely death has profoundly affected the photojournalism community and we are in shock.”

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