Armed attackers killed a woman in front of her horrified husband as they attempted to rob the couple outside an upmarket Newport Beach mall, police have said.
The 69-year old woman and her husband had been outside a Barnes & Noble at the Fashion Island mall when they were approached by two men at around 3.30 pm on Tuesday.
A ‘struggle’ ensued, with one of the men fleeing the scene on foot and firing several rounds with a handgun as he did so, according to reports.
The woman was then dragged into the parking lot and hit by a car being driven by another man, cops said.
The other alleged attacker then jumped in the car before it sped off, with the suspects firing shots as they led the police on a high-speed chase.
Police began following the men, who were in a white Toyota Camry, in a cross-country pursuit shortly after the violent attack.
They chased them into Los Angeles County after a pair of suspects jumped out near Los Alamitos, CBS reports.
The suspects’ car reached speeds of 110mph in the chase on the 105 freeway. Two jumped out of the car and began running around a neighborhood in South Gate.
Police found one of the men hiding behind trash cans outside a house and arrested him.
They also tracked down and arrested two other suspects in the fatal attack.
The victim, who has not been named, is reported to have been from New Zealand.
Her husband was not injured in the attack, police said, and the gunfire did not result in any other injuries.
‘It is a shock,’ Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Oberon said. ‘It just doesn’t happen normally here.’
Mayor Will O’Neill said he was ‘furious’ after hearing news of the attack, which he described as ‘staggering’.
‘I’m horrified. I’m mourning the loss of someone who died inside of our city because of crime… This is a tragedy and I’m furious.
‘Newport Beach is a safe community and we’re mourning the loss of someone,’ he said.
‘Frankly, to hell with these guys. … These are thugs. Every community is now dealing with this. We have to do better as a society. We cannot tolerate this.’