According to authorities, a robbery attempt at Fashion Island in Newport Beach on Tuesday afternoon resulted in the death of a 69-year-old lady.
At 3:30 p.m., police were called to the area around the Barnes & Noble bookstore. The woman and her husband were strolling when two suspects unexpectedly walked up to them, according to the Newport Beach Police Department.
A fight broke out when they attempted to rob the couple, according to the police. Next, the suspects attempted to flee in a white Toyota Camry.
“One of the suspects ran while the vehicle fled and actually struck the female victim,” Newport Beach Police Public Information Officer Steve Oberon stated. “The male suspect that ran got back into the vehicle at which point some rounds were fired from a handgun and the vehicle fled the scene.”
Reports at first said the woman had been shot, but police then stated the Camry had killed her. There was no gunshot wound, according to the police.
At one point during the heist, one of the suspects pulled the woman across the street, according to police during a press conference on Tuesday.
After a short chase, three individuals in all were taken into custody. Two suspects were detained in South Gate, Los Angeles County, while one suspect was taken into custody in Cypress, according to the police.
A number of Newport Beach police officers, some of whom were pointing their rifles toward the back of the house, were surrounded by AIR7 agents around a South Gate residence.
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The fear of shopping malls
One lady who works a few places down from the shooting scene stated that at first she wasn’t sure what was going on as the mayhem was developing.
“A lady went in with her daughter, screaming like, ‘There’s a shooter! There’s a shooter,'” she stated. “We ended up locking down with a lot of customers in there and then waiting.”
When they were all freed, the employee claimed that her store was locked down for around one hour.
“There was just a lot of people who were afraid, just a very scary thing when you’re working,” she stated.
