Top Executive of Ararat Bank shot to death

[Nané]

Police identify shooting victim

 

Ara Terunyan died Wednesday prior to doctor's appointment.

 

By Veronica Rocha

Published: Last Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009 10:19 PM PDT

 

GLENDALE — Authorities on Thursday identified the man who was shot to death Wednesday morning inside his Lexus SUV as Ara Terunyan of North Hollywood.

 

An autopsy on Terunyan, 35, was being performed Thursday to determine how many times he was shot, said Lt. Brian Elias of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.

 

Terunyan and his wife, whom police officials didn’t identify, were waiting for an appointment Wednesday at a doctor’s office in the 300 block of West Colorado Street, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

 

As they waited inside their SUV in a parking lot on Elk Avenue, which is to the rear of the building, a gunman approached and fired several shots into the car, killing Terunyan as his wife looked on.

 

Some witnesses said they heard seven shots. Terunyan’s wife, who wasn’t hit, was screaming for help, her clothes soiled with her husband’s blood, witnesses said.

 

Hovik Dadasyan, a Terunyan family friend in Armenia, said the victim’s wife is pregnant, and he had no idea why the bank executive would be targeted.

 

Dadasyan and Terunyan were listed as being top executives for Ararat Bank, which is based in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, according to a Business Week index. The pair also worked together at the Central Bank of Armenia, Dadasyan said.

 

“Detectives do not believe that this was a random act; however, they are not ruling out any motive and are cautious not to jump to any conclusion,” Lorenz said.

 

Immediately after the shootings, the gunman ran south through the parking lot and got inside a blue, American-made car, Lorenz said.

 

Humberto Rios, who saw the shooter and followed the car, described the shooter as being black, 5 feet 10 to 6 feet tall and wearing a blue-striped T-shirt and blue jeans. Rios drove after the men, who he said escaped on the Golden State (5) Freeway.

 

Terunyan’s death is Glendale’s first homicide this year. Last year, three homicides occurred in the city, Lorenz said.

 

Anyone with details about the shooting, suspects or getaway car is asked to call homicide detectives at (818) 548-3987 or the Crime Stoppers Hotline at (818) 507-STOP to leave an anonymous tip, which may lead to a cash reward.

 

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 VERONICA ROCHA covers public safety and the courts. She may be reached at (818) 637-3232 or by e-mail at veronica.rocha@latimes.com.

 

 

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