Security guard shot near Encino home of the Weeknd’s co-manager in possible attempted home invasion

A security guard was shot multiple times Monday morning outside the home of a record-label executive who has worked with the Weeknd and other well-known musicians.

Iranian Canadian producer and talent manager Amir Esmailian, also known as Cash XO, co-founded XO Records and has worked with several top hip-hop acts, including Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert and the Beyoncé-Jay-Z superduo the Carters.

On Monday shortly before 2:30 a.m., officers were called to the 17500 block of Jayden Lane in Encino over reports of a shooting at a residence, Los Angeles police Officer Kevin Terzes said.

Esmailian was recently lambasted by Drake in a diss track amid Drake’s ongoing feud with the rap industry. But sources in law enforcement and the music industry said the incident appeared to be an attempted home invasion with no connection to the music business.

Investigators said one of the callers was the wounded guard, who described his assailants as wearing hoodies and surgical masks and fleeing on foot after opening fire, according to law enforcement sources who were not authorized to comment publicly on the matter. Emergency radio dispatchers reported the victim as a man in his mid- to late 30s who was shot multiple times and called 911. Several other callers also reported hearing gunshots in the area, according to the dispatch reports shortly after the shooting.

The man was transported to a hospital by paramedics, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Nicholas Prange.

The 37-year-old guard was near a guard shack on a private road outside the property when he was hit multiple times, law enforcement sources said.

The wounded guard was expected to survive after undergoing surgery in the early hours of the morning. The motive for the attack remains unclear but investigators are considering that it may have been an attempted home invasion.

The sources said at least four people were inside the Encino mansion at the time the shots were fired, but they did not know whether Esmailian was among them. Investigators suspect the gunmen planned to break into the home and probably knew of Esmailian’s wealth.