Man shot dead while camping with two young daughters at Malibu Creek State Park

At least 60 state-owned campsites in park shut down to allow detectives to hunt for killer

A man has been shot dead on a camping trip in California with his two young daughters.

Tristan Beaudette, 35, died after suffering a gunshot wound to his upper torso at a campsite in Malibu Creek State Park in Calabasas.

At least 60 state-owned campsites in the park have closed in the wake of the fatal shooting to allow sheriff’s detectives to hunt for the shooter.

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the victim died at the scene of the shooting which was reported at 4.45am on Friday in the 1900 block of Las Virgenes Road.

A motive for the shooting of Mr Beaudette - from Irvine in Orange County – is unknown.

"It appears that the victim was camping at the site with family members," according to the sheriff's department.

The victim was reportedly accompanied by his daughters who are aged two and four.

No one else was injured and no arrests appear to have been made.

"The campground will be closed through Thursday, June 28. We will evaluate daily whether we can re-open sooner or if the closure has to continue past June 28,” Tony Hoffman with California State Parks told NBC4.

Campers were forced to leave all of the 60 campsites – which will stay closed until at least Thursday - on Friday.

“We hope to reopen on Friday, June 29,” Tony Hoffman, a superintendent for California State Parks told NBC4. “We’ll re-evaluate it daily to see if we can’t open sooner, or, of course, extend the closure if necessary.”

Malibu Creek State Park is an 8,215-acre park famed for being the backdrop for TV series M*A*S*H and films such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and the original Planet of the Apes.