A New Jersey doctor who fatally shot his former colleague and then himself apparently believed his victim was responsible for his alleged dismissal from their medical residency program.
The mother of Giocondo Navek's longtime girlfriend told The Associated Press that Navek blamed Dr. Payman Houshmandpour for what she says was his dismissal from the program at Virtua health system.
Forogh Mozaffari said her daughter recently broke up with Navek. Neighbors told The Daily News that Navek and his girlfriend had a child and that the girlfriend and child moved out of the Williamstown, New Jersey house recently.
Authorities say Navek fatally shot Houshmandpour on Wednesday outside his home in Voorhees, N.J. Police say Navek killed himself when police stopped his car nearby.
The 32-year-old Houshmandpour was a resident at Virtua. Navek left the program a year-and-a-half ago. Virtua wouldn't comment on the reason.
Navek worked as an intern for Dr. Simon Boulattouf at Virtua, according to The Daily News, which reports:
Boulattouf said that Navek was his intern at Virtua and that he had "issues at work that eventually led to his [dismissal]." Boulattouf said that one issue was with Houshmandpour, but he declined to elaborate.
"It was so many factors," he said.
