Woman Killed In Fashion Island Armed Robbery

Shots were fired near the Barnes & Noble bookstore before suspects led police on a chase across Orange County to South Gate.

Jul 2, 2024 4:49 pm PDT | Updated Jul 3, 2024 4:47 pm PDT

NEWPORT BEACH, CA —One woman was killed, and another person was shot and seriously injured at Fashion Island in a Newport Beach robbery gone wrong Tuesday, officials said.

The robbery occurred near the Barnes & Noble bookstore at Fashion Island Mall, located at 401 Newport Center Drive, according to Newport Beach Police.

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Newport Police Department detectives say the incident started at about 3:30 p.m. when the suspects robbed a 69-year-old woman and her husband outside the bookstore. The suspects then jumped into a white car and ran over the woman, killing her, according to KCAL9 reports.

As Newport Beach Fire Department arrived at the scene, they found the woman, already deceased, in the parking lot just outside of the shopping center’s Barnes and Noble.

Police have asked shoppers to avoid the mall during the investigation.

Two suspects led authorities on a car chase into South Gate, where at least one person was taken into custody near Lincoln Avenue and Paramount Boulevard.

KCAL9 reports that several other people bailed out of the fleeing vehicle in the Los Alamitos area earlier in the pursuit. Patch reached out to the Los Alamitos Police Department for comment, but a Watch Commander refused to say if there was an active search for any suspects within the city.

Correction: Earlier reports stated the woman was shot. Details later unfolded that was not the case.