- Police chased two of the suspects at high speed before arresting them.
Gunmen killed a woman in front of her horrified husband as they tried to rob the couple outside an upmarket Newport Beach shopping center, police said.
The 69-year-old woman and her husband were outside a Barnes & Noble at the Fashion Island mall when they were approached by two men around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
A ‘struggle’ ensued and one of the men fled the scene on foot, firing several shots from a handgun as he did so, according to reports.
The woman was then dragged into the parking lot and hit by a car driven by another man, police said.
The other alleged attacker then got into the car before it sped off, and the suspects fired shots as they led police on a high-speed chase.
A man is seen surrounded by officers as he is arrested. Police reportedly engaged in a high-speed chase with two of the suspects.
Images show a white police forensic tent in the car park at the scene of the attack.
Police began following the men, who were traveling in a white Toyota Camry, on a cross-country chase shortly after the violent attack.
They were chased into Los Angeles County after a pair of suspects jumped near Los Alamitos, CBS reports.
The suspects’ car reached speeds of 110 mph during the chase on the 105 Freeway. Two of them jumped out of the car and began running through a neighborhood in South Gate.
Police found one of the men hiding behind trash cans outside a home and arrested him.
Two other suspects in the fatal attack were also located and arrested.
The victim, whose name has not been released, was reported to be from New Zealand.
Her husband was not injured in the attack, police said, and the shooting caused no other injuries.
“It’s a surprise,” said Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Oberon. “Something like this doesn’t happen around here very often.”
General view of the Fashion Island Mall in Newport Beach, California
Newport Beach police and other law enforcement agencies are searching South Gate for suspects believed to be involved in a fatal robbery at the Fashion Island mall on Tuesday.
Mayor Will O’Neill said he was “furious” after hearing the news of the attack, which he described as “shocking.”
‘I am horrified. I am mourning the loss of someone who died within our city because of a crime… This is a tragedy and I am furious.
“Newport Beach is a safe community and we are mourning the loss of someone,” he said.
“Frankly, to hell with these guys… They are bullies. Every community is dealing with this right now. We have to do better as a society. We cannot tolerate this.”