'Disgruntled' Former Patient Allegedly Killed Beloved Dentist with Gun He'd Recently Purchased: Police

Benjamin Harouni turned 28 just over a week before he was killed

A Southern California dentist was shot and killed in his office by a “disgruntled former customer,” police allege.

The El Cajon Police Department responded to gunshots at a dental office Thursday and discovered two men and a woman shot. One of the men, identified as Benjamin Harouni by the San Diego County Medical Examiner, died from his injuries.

Police claim the suspect, Mohammed Abdulkareem, fled the scene in a U-Haul truck and was arrested that night in San Diego.

Abdulkareem was armed with a handgun that he had purchased legally two weeks before the shooting, police allege. He has been charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder, police say. It is not immediately clear if he has retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.

Harouni, who turned 28 nine days before he was killed, was a dentist at Smile Plus Dentistry, a practice owned by his father, Jack Harouni.

A GoFundMe started by Harouni’s nephew is aiming to raise money for his family as well as for America’s Toothfairy, a charity that helps children without regular access obtain dental care.

"He was an amazing uncle, amazing friend to a lot of people and,” the organizer wrote. “Sadly his life was taken while working at his dentist office.”

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