Shot Carjack Suspect Arrested at Hospital

LAKE FOREST — A man suspected of abducting a pregnant woman early Friday accidentally shot himself in the leg as he got into her vehicle and was arrested moments later at a hospital, where he was awaiting medical attention, authorities said.

Sheriff deputies arrested Reza Dorostjou, 24, of Mission Viejo on suspicion of kidnaping and assault with a deadly weapon. Dorostjou was hospitalized and scheduled to undergo surgery to remove a bullet.

Lt. Tom Garner said a man approached the 22-year-old woman, whose identification had been withheld, in the carport of her home about 12:40 a.m. as she was getting out of her car. The man ordered her to drive him to Laguna Beach, deputies said.

When the man went around to the passenger side of the car, he shot himself with a .38-caliber revolver in the right thigh as he was stepping into the car, Garner said.

The woman then calmly told the man he needed to get to a hospital, Garner said.

But the man insisted that she drive him to Laguna Beach, according to police. While driving there, the man ordered her to stop the car near Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, deputies said. The man left and the woman drove back home where her husband called authorities.

Deputies said they arrested Dorostjou in the waiting area of the hospital’s emergency room.

The woman was not injured.