Man Fatally Shot in Bank Robbery Try Identified

The man who was fatally gunned down by a security guard earlier this week while trying to rob a bank claiming he had a bomb was identified Friday as Ajang Khadivi of Winnetka, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

Dressed in a baseball cap, a black wig, two shirts and two pairs of pants, Khadivi, 35, told Washington Mutual Bank employees and customers Thursday that he would detonate a bomb in his briefcase if he was not allowed to walk away with thousands of dollars, Los Angeles police said.

One of two armed security guards temporarily stationed at the bank fired several shots into Khadivi when he made a sudden gesture toward his waist, as if reaching for a gun or detonator, police said.

While 18 customers and bank employees looked on in horror, Khadivi died almost instantly, police said.

Although police discovered later that Khadivi carried neither a bomb nor any other weapon, LAPD Robbery-Homicide Det. John Wong called the shooting justified.

The guards “thought he was either going to start shooting or detonate a bomb,” Wong said. “In their mind, he was going for something.”

Citing an ongoing investigation, Wong declined to identify the guards or release additional information about Khadivi, including if he had ever been arrested or suspected of previous crimes.

But Wong did say that several pre-written demand notes apparently meant for tellers were found inside Khadivi’s car, a polished black 1989 Mercedes sedan parked outside the bank.

The Tarzana bank branch, which was closed Friday due to the shooting, had not been robbed in more than a year, Wong said.

The guards, who work for an Oakland-based company called IPSO, were stationed there to investigate “internal problems,” said Lt. Anthony Alba, an LAPD spokesman.

Neither Alba nor bank officials would describe the internal problems. “It’s still an ongoing investigation,” said Tim McGarry, a Washington Mutual corporate spokesman.