Man kills 15-year old ex-girlfriend Mina Kurdian then shoots himself

Police were investigating two shootings, one of which occurred near Glenarm Street and Arroyo Seco Parkway in Pasadena.

(OnScene.TV)

By Richard Winton

 and Iris Kwok

• L.A. Times

The victim of a deadly shooting in Arcadia has been identified as a 15-year-old girl who was targeted by her 20-year-old ex-boyfriend, authorities said.

The suspect, Paul Anthony Cruz Jr., at about 11 a.m. Thursday allegedly broke into the apartment where the girl lived with her family in the 800 block of West Huntington Drive and fatally shot her, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The girl was identified by the Los Angeles County medical examiner as 15-year-old Mina Kurdian. She and the suspect were in a previous relationship, authorities said.

After the shooting, Cruz went to Pasadena and allegedly shot himself, police said. He was listed in critical condition on Friday, authorities said.

The incident began with a call to police about a shooting in Arcadia. The caller said a man was inside the residence and had fired a gun.

Officers arrived to find a girl with a gunshot wound, according to a statement Thursday afternoon from Arcadia police. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

“We heard a woman screaming,” Daisy Valdez told KTLA-TV. “We heard her asking for an ambulance. It sounded like it was a mom for sure.”

By the time officers arrived, the suspect had fled the scene, according to the statement. Cruz was found in Pasadena about an hour later suffering from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.

Auto shop workers across the street from the incident told KABC that they heard a gunshot, then saw police handcuffing a man outside.

“We look out the window, there’s this guy, he’s laying face down on the floor. A couple seconds later, police officers show up and they close off the area,” said Michael Amini, manager at Alliance Auto Body Works, told the station.

The Sheriff’s Department said he shot himself as Pasadena Police Department officers were preparing to contact him.

Amini told The Times the neighborhood was “pretty busy” at the time of the shooting, and there were several other witnesses.

As he was being pursued by police, the suspect parked his car in the Petco parking lot, walked over to the sidewalk and pulled out the gun, Amini said.

After the shooting, Amini said, police arrived about “five seconds” later, he said.

“It was really fast,” Amini said