One person was found dead after reports of shots fired at the Fashion Island shopping mall in Newport Beach, the Newport Beach Fire Department said Tuesday.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found the deceased at the parking lot area of the Barnes & Noble’s bookstore inside the mall.
A woman at the Barnes & Noble bookstore inside the mall said she and others were locked inside as a crime scene is set up outside.
A shopper also told NBCLA that as she was parking her car on her way to a Starbucks at the mall, she was stopped by another shopper.
“I was just parking my car. And this gal came up to me and said she heard shots, and she said to leave the area,” the woman said.
She added her friend, whom she was planning to meet at the coffee shop, witnessed an attempted robbery with three men trying to rob a woman. But when a Good Samaritan intervened, the three attempted robbers took off in a possible yellow Camry.
As they were getting away, they ran over the woman, and three shots were fired, the woman told NBCLA.
Authorities urged the public to avoid the area as the investigation continues.
Police said multiple officers were dispatched to the mall.
This is a developing story.