A dentist was shot and killed at a California dental office Thursday by a “disgruntled” former patient who had been planning to kill him for weeks, police said.
Mohamed Abdulkareem, 29, was wearing all black when he entered Smile Plus Dentistry and Orthodontics around 4:15 p.m. and opened fire, striking two adult males and an adult female. be done.
El Cajon police said the suspect jumped into a U-Haul pickup truck with Arizona plates and fled the scene.
First responders arrived within just two minutes, but one of the men died at the scene. The others were taken to hospital in serious but stable condition.
Police did not release the names of the victims, but the identities of the deceased have been released. yeshiva world As Dr. Benjamin Haruni, a Jewish dentist who worked at his father’s dental clinic.
Receptionist Yareli Carrillo, 28, and a man in his 40s were the other victims of the shooting, the paper said.
El Cajon police could not immediately confirm their identities.
The shocking shooting spurred a manhunt for the U-Haul and Abdulkareem, which police described as “armed and dangerous” in a red alert for the gunman.
He was arrested about five hours after the shooting after a citizen reported an abandoned rental truck in San Diego, just 20 miles from the dental clinic.
Abdulkareem was found nearby with a loaded handgun and several loaded handgun magazines.
Police said the shooting appeared to have been planned for several weeks.
Records show Abdulkareem legally purchased a handgun just two weeks ago and rented a U-Haul an hour before he allegedly shot and killed the former dentist.
“The exact motive for the shooting is still under investigation, but Abdulkareem is believed to have been a disgruntled former customer,” El Cajon police said in a statement. said in a statement.
of Anti-Defamation League of San Diego On Friday, police said they found no indication that anti-Semitism was a motive, although they said the shooting victim was a member of the Jewish community.
Smile Plus Dentistry lists Mr. Harouni as one of three doctors working for his father, Jack, who owns the El Cajon-based dental practice.
According to some sources, Haruni had celebrated his birthday just nine days before the murder. Social media posts.
Abdulkareem was booked into a San Diego jail on felony charges, including one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder.
He is being held without bail.
