Tourist From New Zealand Killed by Armed Robbers at Upscale Newport Beach Mall

Three Los Angeles area men have been arrested by Newport Beach Police for fatally hitting a 68-year-old tourist from New Zealand with a getaway vehicle as they fled the scene of Tuesday's botched armed robbery attempt at the luxury mall Fashion Island.

The chaotic spurt of violence took place near around 3:30 p.m. on July 2, outside a popular Barnes & Noble store when two men — one armed with a handgun — tried to rob a husband and wife walking together. During a struggle, the gunman squeezed off three rounds from his handgun. In the mayhem, Newport Beach Police say, no one was hit by the fusillade of bullets. But during their getaway, the elderly woman was dragged by the suspects toward a white Toyota Camry driven by a third man. During their getaway, the car barreled into Patricia McKay, who died at the scene. Her husband was uninjured.

The suspects then sped off, leading police on a wild chase onto the 405 freeway with multiple law enforcement agencies joining in on the ground and in the air the Newport Beach Police said in a social media post. The car came to a stop first in Cypress, where one of the three perpetrators got out and started running before the sedan was finally abandoned in Los Angeles county. All three men were captured in separate foot chases, police say.

The suspects were identified as Jaden Cunningham, 18, of Lancaster, Malachi Eddward Darnell, 18, of Los Angeles, and Leroyernest Joseph McCrary, 26, of Compton, according to the Newport Beach Police Department. All three were booked on suspicion of homicide, robbery with firearm and conspiracy.

McCrary has a long rap sheet in Los Angeles County, according to a court docket. A source confirmed to Los Angeles that he was arrested last year in Santa Monica for a similar armed robbery on Main Street, another area popular with tourists to southern California, after he pointed a gun at a man and demanded his Rolex.

It remains unclear how McCrary, who was being held on $1 million bail in connection with that 2022 crime, was out on the streets to allegedly be part of a trio that killed an elderly foreign tourist.

Newport Beach Mayor William O'Neill called the suspected killers "thugs" and posted the Newport Beach Police press release with condolences for the victim's family.

It is unclear where the couple was staying along the picturesque coastal highway where the mall is located. 

This article originally appeared on lamag.com