Man Arrested in Shootings of Mother, Brother in Glendale

A Glendale man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly shooting his mother to death and critically wounding his brother before turning the gun on himself, police said.

Taron Gorgoyan, 22, was in critical condition in the Los Angeles County Jail ward late Tuesday with what investigators believe was a self-inflicted shotgun wound to his head, said Sgt. Kirk Palmer, a spokesman for the Glendale Police Department.

Palmer said the motive for the shootings remained unknown Tuesday.

The shootings occurred about 3 p.m. Monday in the family’s two-bedroom apartment in the 500 block of West Lexington Avenue, a tree-lined neighborhood of houses and apartment buildings just south of the Pasadena Freeway.

The suspect’s mother, Karine Kostanyan, 49, was pronounced dead 90 minutes after the incident from a single shotgun wound to the upper body, police said. Her son David Gorgoyan, 19, who was shot in the stomach, remained in critical condition late Tuesday at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, Palmer said.

“What we think happened is that Taron shot his brother and his mother, though we don’t know in what order,” Palmer said. “Then, he attempted suicide by turning the shotgun on himself.”

Police said they don’t know how soon they can conduct extensive interviews with either brother because of their injuries.

Palmer said one of the brothers called 911 following the shootings.

Police said the family had been under stress since Kostanyan’s husband died several months ago of cancer.

“The family took it hard,” Palmer said. “Whether or not it was a factor in this incident, we still don’t know.”

Neighbors and friends described the family as close-knit.

Alison Parker, who lives nearby, spoke highly of David.

“He’s the nicest guy,” Parker said. “He was the nicest kid I ever met.”