Nephew Held in Shooting in Woodbridge

A Woodbridge man shot in the head during an argument over money with a nephew was fighting for his life Monday as police continued piecing together the events leading up to the Sunday shooting.

Mohsen Dehdashti, 67, was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana. “We would describe his condition as grave,” said Police Sgt. Tom Little, a spokesman for the Irvine Police Department.

Police arrested Arash Harriri, 28, Dehdashti’s nephew, Sunday afternoon in connection with the 8:30 a.m. shooting. He was booked at Orange County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and was scheduled to be arraigned today at Municipal Court in Newport Beach.

Little described Harriri as an illegal immigrant from Iran who has been in the United States about three years. He reportedly went to the Dehdashti family’s Willowbrook Street house Saturday to ask for money. After being refused, police said, Harriri apparently spent the night in the family’s backyard, then confronted Dehdashti Sunday morning with a .38-caliber revolver as the older man was leaving for a bike ride.

Harriri was arrested about five hours later, after allegedly burglarizing a neighbor’s house, Little said.