The Chabad of Downtown said the 28-year-old victim lived a life of service and had just graduated dentistry school to join the family business, NBC 7’s Jackie Crea reports.
San Diego County officials on Friday released the identification of the man killed in Thursday's El Cajon dental office shooting as 28-year-old San Diego resident Benjamin Ariel Harouni.
Harouni was a licensed dentist according to the Dental Board of California.
While the dental business was registered as Smile Plus, under Jack Harouni, DDS, the website displayed the name Smile By Us. One of those staff members listed is Dr. Benjamin Harouni.
Medical personnel tried to save Harouni's life, but he died on the sidewalk in front of the Smile Plus dental office around 4:53 p.m., county officials said. He died of multiple gunshot wounds, officials added.
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Two other victims were injured when the gunman opened fire, but officials have not released their identities.
The Chabad of Downtown San Diego referenced the victim’s father as Jack Harouni, adding the background information of the family business.
The Rabbi of the Chabad of Downtown San Diego, Zalman Carlebach, sent the statement below to NBC 7:
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“The San Diego Jewish community lost a precious soul yesterday. Dr. Benjamin Harouni was brutally & tragically murdered at his dental office by a senseless man. Benjamin was a beautiful, kind, and caring young man, who had his entire life ahead of him. His parents, Jack and Hilda Harouni moved to San Diego from Sacramento and built up Smile Plus dental centers’ multiple locations and dedicated their expertise to help others. Benjamin recently graduated dental school and joined the family practice at Smile Plus' El Cajon office. The Harounis are a kind and generous family that have been active members at Chabad of Downtown and have contributed to many Jewish causes over the years. Please do positive acts of kindness and spread peace to fill the world with much needed light in memory of Benjamin. May G-d comfort his parents, brothers, extended family, and the entire Jewish community."
Throughout the day Friday, several people showed up for their appointments, not knowing about the shooting until they were met with a locked office, taped off by crime tape and a police officer guarding out front.
Courtney Emerson was one of those patients.
“Nobody called me, nobody let me know. I mean I had no idea. I just showed up at the front door and the police officer said there was a shooting yesterday," she said.
Emerson said she was not Harouni’s patient.
“That’s crazy. I mean I’ve been at the dentist there and my dentist is very nice. So I can’t imagine why someone would want to shoot at that dentist office,” said Emerson.
But sadly, this isn’t the first time she's been this close to a fatal shooting. She told NBC 7, she was a student at Santana high school in 2001, when a student opened fire on campus, killing two and wounding 13.
“To think that it could happen anywhere in this world, I mean you just never know what’s going to happen to you. You just never know,” said Emerson.
Rabbi Carlebach told NBC 7 over the phone that he will be providing the funeral service.
