Award-winning British photojournalist and combat photographer Paul Lowe has died at age 60. He was killed in a stabbing on a popular hiking trail near Los Angeles, and authorities say his 19-year-old son Emir has been arrested for the murder.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, police responded to an incident on Saturday at around 3:28 pm at Mount Baldy Road, near Stoddard Canyon Falls in California’s San Gabriel Mountains, after receiving reports of an assault with a deadly weapon. Responding officers found a “white male adult suffering trauma to his upper torso,” later identified as Lowe, who was pronounced dead at the scene by San Bernardino fire department personnel.
“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 sheriff’s department continues. “The male was detained pending further investigation.”
The arrested man was identified as Emir Abadzic Lowe, and law enforcement says that evidence gathered at the scene and eyewitness accounts linked the photographer’s son to the crime. Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged Emir Lowe on Tuesday with one count of murder for his father’s death.
The county medical examiner determined that Paul Lowe had died from a stab wound in the neck.
Christian Paul Lowe was born on November 6th, 1963 in London and spent his early years in the city of Liverpool. He attended the University of Cambridge and graduated in 1986 with degrees in history and philosophy. Two years later, he earned a vocational degree in documentary photography from the Gwent College of Higher Education (now known as The University of Wales, Newport).
After becoming a photographer, he became best known for documenting a number of major world events over the decades, most notably the conflict during the Bosnian War that led to the breakup of the former country of Yugoslavia. His books from this period include Bosnians, Reporting the Siege of Sarajevo, and Photography, Bearing Witness and the Yugoslav Wars, 1988-2021: Testimonies of Light.
Other topics he focused on included the fall of the Berlin Wall, the destruction of the Russian city of Grozny, Nelson Mandela’s release, and famine in Africa.
Represented by Panos Pictures, Lowe’s work appeared in some of the world’s leading publications, including Time, Newsweek, Life, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Observer, and The Independent.
Powe was a Professor of Conflict, Peace and the Image at London College of Communication.
“[Lowe’s] main research interests lies in photojournalism and documentary photography and the role of art and culture in post conflict societies,” the photographer’s bio on the university website reads. “He is particularly interested in the relationship of photography and conflict, and the effect of photojournalism on public discourse.
“He is currently working on research around the ethics of representations of suffering, especially around the concept of bearing witness to trauma, and also on the materiality of the photograph.”
Amra Abadzic Lowe, Lowe’s wife of nearly 30 years, tells the New York Times that their son Emir suffered from mental health struggles and had been hospitalized for psychosis on multiple occasions over just the past year.
Emir had been in the United States for over two months after originally planning to visit the country for just a handful of days, Amra Lowe tells the Times, and Paul Lowe had flown to California in an attempt to convince his son to return home to the UK.
“Mr. Lowe and his son had been driving around the mountains in the Los Angeles area […] and had gotten out of their car to admire the views just before the incident occurred,” the Times reports.
People across the photography community are now paying tribute to the renowned photojournalist.
“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,” says Santiago Lyon, a former vice president and director of photography at The Associated Press. “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.”
“It is with deep sadness that we received news of Professor Paul Lowe’s passing,” The Department of War Studies at King’s College London writes in a statement. “[…] 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.”