Celebrity Mound

Cops are closing in on the person they believe shot actor Mark Ruffalo’s brother, Scott.

“We will be able to make an arrest,” Sgt. Michael Publicker, who is heading the investigation in Beverly Hills, told The News.

Publicker wouldn’t say when the arrest might come but confirmed that detectives are focusing on two people who were at Scott’s apartment on Dec. 1 when a bullet entered his brain.

Still considered “persons of interest,” according to Publicker, are Shaha Mishaal Adham, 27, and Kristian Muradaz, 29.

Adham, the daughter of a wealthy Saudi businessman, has told police that Scott, 39, shot himself in a game of Russian roulette while high on cocaine. But L.A.’s coroner later ruled the shooting a homicide — noting that the gun was fired at a 45-degree angle from above and in front of his head. The autopsy report also noted there was no gunpowder residue or “stippling” of the flesh around the wound, both of which often accompany a self-inflicted shot.

Lawyer Ron Richards, who represents Adham and Muradaz, insists that his clients are innocent.

The angle that the bullet entered “is consistent with someone playing with a gun and it accidentally discharging,” Richards told The News’ Nancy Dillon. The attorney argued that doctors trying to save Scott, who died seven days later, may have washed away the gunpowder soot and that the stippling could have healed by the time of the autopsy.

Richards said Adham had no gunpowder residue on her. Her fingerprints were on the gun, he said, only because “she had moved some of [Scott's] guns off the table while she was hanging with him so they would not be near her.”

Scott, a top hairstylist, “had a severe cocaine problem,” said Richards. “He played with guns in the past in front of numerous witnesses.”

Asked whether either Adham or Muradaz had used coke on the night in question, he said: “I don’t know.”

Ruffalo’s stepfather, Jerry Hull, was delighted when we told him that cops intended to make an arrest.

“That’s wonderful,” said Hull. “I just want to see someone brought to justice. We’re going to be sad about this the rest of our lives. We want the perpetrator properly punished.”

A rep for Mark Ruffalo, who has starred in “You Can Count on Me” and “Zodiac,” had no comment by deadline.

Hull wouldn’t say whether Scott, who was not living with his wife, Lulu, had been depressed.

“All I’ll say is that his mother had recently spent three days with him, and they had a wonderful time together. She’s happy for that.”

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THERE was a sad twist at the private memorial service for Mark Ruffalo’s kid brother. The family gathering for hairdresser Scott Ruffalo, 39, was held in Los Angeles without his remains because the coroner had to keep the body longer than usual for the ongoing police investigation, sources tell The Post’s David Finnegan. Scott’s body was finally released this week and cremated. He was shot in the back of the head in his Beverly Hills apartment in what cops are probing as a homicide.

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The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office on Wednesday ruled the death of Mark Ruffalo’s younger brother a homicide.

Coroner’s spokesman Craig Harvey says an autopsy determined that someone shot 39-year-old Scott M. Ruffalo in the head. He was found with a gunshot wound early Dec. 1 and died a week later at a hospital after being released from life support.

Beverly Hills police arrested Shaha Mishaal Adham, 26, before Ruffalo died on an attempted murder warrant. They later released her and she has not been charged.

Adham’s attorney, Ronald Richards, who said after her release that Scott Ruffalo shot himself, disputed the coroner’s determination Wednesday night.

“The only two eye witnesses to the shooting saw the same thing, a gunshot wound to the left side of the head, while one of them saw him pull the trigger,” Richards wrote in an e-mail. “They saw the gun in his left hand after the shot was fired.”

He said no gun residue had been found on Adham’s clothes and that police had not requested another meeting with her.

Police do not have any suspects in custody and had not been notified of the coroner’s determination by Wednesday evening, Sgt. Michael Publicker said. He said the agency had no further statements on the case.

Police have not released a motive for the shooting.

Scott Ruffalo’s family released a statement after his death thanking supporters and saying the funeral would be private.

Mark Ruffalo, 41, has appeared in films such as “You Can Count on Me,” “Zodiac,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and this year’s “Blindness.”

Shaha Mishaal Adham, the lead suspect in the murder of Mark Ruffalo’s brother, claims Scott Ruffalo shot himself accidentally during a game of Russian Roulette.

“We expect the coroners report to show the shooting was a result of the victim’s chronic playing of Russian Roulette and his dangerous playing with firearms while under the use of controlled substances,” Adham’s attorney Ronald Richards told the New York Daily News on Tuesday.

“My client was a good friend of the victim and is very sad for the loss of his family. However, she played no role whatsoever in his accidental death,” Richards said.

According to TMZ, the 39-year-old hairstylist passed away Monday night a week after he was shot in the head.

Beverly Hills Police Sgt. Renato Moreno also confirmed to The Associated Press that Scott died late Monday night at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

On Monday, Shaha Mishaal Adham, a suspect in the shooting, turned herself in to Beverly Hills police after an attempted murder warrant was issued for the 26-year-old’s arrest.

Brian Burton Scofield, a “person of interest” in the crime, accompanied her to the Beverly Hills Police Department Monday at 1:30 p.m. (Scofield is being held on a misdemeanor traffic warrant.)

A court date for Adham has been tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.

Shaha Mishaal Adham and Brian Burton Scofield, suspects in the attempted murder of Mark Ruffalo’s brother, turned themselves into the Beverly Hills Police Department Monday at 1:30 pm, according to a Beverly Hills Police press release.

According to the press release, Adham was booked on a no-bail arrest warrant for attempted murder, while Scofield was booked on a misdemeanor traffic warrant.

Scofield — who is about 25 years old — and Adham — who is about 27 years old — both live in the Los Angeles area.

At 1:10 a.m. on Dec. 1, Beverly Hills Fire Department responded to assist a person who fell in the 400 block of North Palm Drive, near the condo where Scott Ruffalo lived, police said.

Upon arrival, it was determined that Scott had been shot in the head.

Scott, a hairstylist, remains in critical condition in a Los Angeles hospital.

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Police are seeking two people they want to question about the shooting of actor Mark Ruffalo’s brother.

The Beverly Hills Police Department identified two people as “persons of interest” Thursday afternoon. Police say they want to question the pair, Brian Scofield and Shaha Mishaal Adham, as part of an attempted murder investigation.

They say Scofield is about 25 years old and Adham is about 27 years old. Both live in the Los Angeles area.

A publicist for Mark Ruffalo confirmed on Wednesday that the actor’s 39-year-old brother was clinging to life after being shot in the head early Monday.

Police say Scott Ruffalo remains in critical condition. A possible motive has not been released.

Mark Ruffalo’s spokeswoman had no comment on the information released by police.

13 Going on 30 star Mark Ruffalo’s younger brother Scott was shot in head at his Beverly Hills condominium early Monday morning. He is currently in very serious condition in Los Angeles hospital.

A rep for Mark Ruffalo has no comment at this time, citing that the case is an ongoing police investigation.

According to sources, the shooting occurred at about 1:40 a.m. at the building where Scott Ruffalo lived on North Palm Drive. Police confirmed the shooting, but would not say who was involved.

Scott, 39, is a hairdresser who has worked in salons in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills and has held a California state cosmetology license since 1991.

Like his brother Mark, Scott was born in Kenosha, Wis., before moving with his family to San Diego.

Scott Ruffalo is married to Luzelena Ruffalo, and is stepfather to her daughter, Lucinda.

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Jake Gyllenhaal

Greg Lauren and Elizabeth Berkley

David Schwimmer

Lydia Hearst

Mark Ruffalo

While many celebs go out of their way to antagonize the press, Mark Ruffalo had them eating out of his hand the other night. When bad weather kept his guests from attending Gotham magazine’s screening of his new thriller, “Zodiac,” Ruffalo invited reporters lingering outside in the cold to see the flick. He also passed out gift bags to the paparazzi. “When one photographer was late and missed the arrivals, Mark came back out so he could get his shot,” our spy said. “Then, after the movie, he extended an invite for them to join him at the after-party at Cellar Bar in the Bryant Park Hotel. He was by far one of the nicest guys.”

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