Joined in Sorrow

Shocked community members and bereaved friends Friday made a small shrine of flowers, candles, balloons and cards on the sidewalk outside the Jewel Garden, where Nouhad Sleiman was killed and her husband, Michel Sleiman, was critically wounded the day before by unidentified gunmen.

“People open a family business, make a decent living, serve the community, and they end up shot to death,” said Phyllis Rawles, a customer and 25-year resident of the Lake Forest area where the Sleimans had their business. “This breaks my heart,” she said after dropping a card by a bouquet of sunflowers.

Sleiman’s condition remained critical Friday night, and he was still in the intensive care unit, said Rita Wilcox, spokesperson for Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, where Sleiman was taken after the shooting.

“The family is taking this very hard, which is understandable,” said Zaki Ciab, serving as the family spokesperson. “They’re praying for the father that he will get well very soon.”

No additional information was released about the crime or the two gunmen. But Lt. Hector Rivera of the Orange County Sheriff’s department said a car was recovered Friday afternoon near the Irvine Spectrum and brought to a crime lab for evaluation.

“We found it in close proximity to our crime, and it was similar to the one described, so we’re proceeding cautiously with it,” Rivera said.

The Sleimans, who emigrated from Lebanon 15 years ago, had been robbed previously--in January 1997. In that incident, a suspended Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy stole $117,000 worth of merchandise.

Greg Moeller of Laguna Hills, a family friend for eight years, said that even after the 1997 robbery, the Sleimans did not consider closing their business. “Mike loved the jewelry business, and he loved his customers,” Moeller said. “It was his life.”

Moeller, whose wedding ring was designed by Sleiman, knelt Friday by the cluster of flowers outside the shop, picked up a small framed photo of Nouhad and wiped tears from his eyes.

Denise Saad of Mission Viejo laid a plastic-wrapped bundle of pink gladioli next to a lighted candle. She said that two of her rings were made by the slain jeweler. “I don’t think I’d ever want to be in the jewelry business,” she said, her hands shaking.

Saad and her husband, Habib, are friends of the Sleiman family. Saad estimated that 50 people held vigil for Michel at the hospital Thursday night. “We’re all devastated,” she said.

Ciab said the family is offering a reward for information leading to arrest and conviction of the gunmen. “We have started with $5,000 and are asking other businesses and persons to pledge to the fund,” he said.

Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to call the Orange County Sheriff’s department at (714) 628-7170.

Times Staff Writer Valerie Burgher contributed to this report.