Husband fatally shoots wife in front of teen son, CA officials say. ‘My heart dropped’
A man shot and killed his wife in front of their teenage son as they left a religious meeting, California prosecutors say.
The 64-year-old husband was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his 54-year-old wife, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a Feb. 12 news release.
The wife was in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Encino with the couple’s son Wednesday, Feb. 5, prosecutors said.
She had just left the home of Rabbi Bijan Zangan, who leads an Iranian-Jewish synagogue, the Jewish Journal reported.
“When she left, I heard pew, pew, pew,” Zangan told the news outlet. “I thought maybe it’s just construction, and then all of a sudden, my heart dropped.”
Her husband fatally shot her, prosecutors said.
“After I heard the gunshots, I went outside, looked around and saw the son running toward me screaming, he went in the house and we locked the door,” Zangan told the Jewish Journal. “After a few seconds I went back outside and saw her lying on the street with her face down.”
Officers arrived in the area after getting reports of a shooting at about 7:30 p.m., the Los Angeles Police Department said, KABC reported.
They found the woman with a gunshot wound to the head in the street, and she was pronounced dead on scene, police said, the news outlet reported.
The husband ran from the area but was arrested nearby, prosecutors said.
At the time of the shooting, the couple’s divorce was pending, according to prosecutors.
“This was a tragic and deeply disturbing shooting that took place in front of a child,” District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in the release. “No family should ever have to endure such a tragedy.”
In addition to the murder charge, the husband was also charged with one felony count of child abuse, prosecutors said.
McClatchy News is not identifying the man to protect the identity of the minor.
The man, who is being held without bail, is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 20, according to prosecutors.
If convicted on all counts, prosecutors said he faces a potential sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
This story was originally published February 13, 2025 at 10:35 AM with the headline "Husband fatally shoots wife in front of teen son, CA officials say. ‘My heart dropped’."
