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EL CAJON, Calif. — The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the victim killed in a dental office shooting Thursday in El Cajon.
Benjamin Ariel Harouni, 28, was announced as the deceased, the medical examiner’s office said on its website Friday. Harouni was a dentist at Smile Plus Dentistry and Orthodontics at 480 North Magnolia Avenue where the shooting took place, according to the company’s website.
Harouni, as well as two others, were shot early Thursday evening inside Smile Plus Dentistry and Orthodontics, according to the El Cajon Police Department. When officers arrived on scene, they brought the victims outside of the dental office to perform CPR.
Harouni died at the scene from apparent gunshot injuries to the body, while the other two victims, a man in his 40s and woman in her 20s, were taken to the hospital where they are in stable condition. There were other people in the dental office during the shooting, police said.
“My heartfelt condolences go out to Ben Harouni’s family and friends. The Harouni family’s contributions to dentistry are renowned across the state, making this loss deeply felt in our community. Thank you to law enforcement for their prompt investigation into this heinous act of violence. The perpetrator must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” said Brian Jones, California Senate Minority Leader Senate District 40 of San Diego, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Mohammed Abdulkareem, was believed to be a “disgruntled former customer” of the dental office, authorities said.
Abdulkareem left the scene of the shooting and was on the run for several hours until police located him as well as the U-Haul pickup truck he was believed to be driving in the Balboa Park area. Police found a loaded handgun and several loaded handgun magazines on him, which records show was legally purchased by Abdulkareem just two weeks before the shooting.
Abdulkareem has been booked into the San Diego County Central Jail on multiple felony charges, according to police. He is facing one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder. Police also noted that further investigation into the incident could reveal additional felony charges.
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