70-Year-Old Grandmother Shot in the Face by Woman Who Stole Her Purse

A 70-year-old grandmother was shot in Inglewood on Christmas Day, and authorities are working new leads in the hunt for the shooter.

Authorities have released a description of the suspect's vehicle and allege that the suspect stole the victim's purse before taking off with a getaway driver.

The victim was a longtime Inglewood resident and is grave condition at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

Detectives describe the suspect's vehicle as a black car with tinted windows.

The shooting occurred near Yukon Avenue and 104th street, with torn crime tape marking the remnants of the crime scene, according to police, and a nearby security camera caught a black sedan with paper plates believed to be the getaway car.

The victim's family called police after the grandmother went to the store on Christmas Day and never returned, according to police. A woman in her 30s is believed to have exchanged words with the victim before witnesses heard a single gunshot.

"They thought it was just a conversation," Lt. Neal Cochran of the Inglewood Police Department says. "They look away for a second, then, they hear a pop which was a gunshot. They look over. They see our victim on the ground, and they see the suspect taking her purse."

The victim was shot in the face and was rushed to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where her condition went from critical to grave. Her family was too distraught to speak on camera, but begging police to bring the shooter to justice.

Police and the family are asking for the public's help in finding the shooter and the getaway driver, a man also in his 30s.   

"To shoot her, for who knows what's even in the purse? I don't see how that could ever be worth shooting someone for," Cochran said. 

The yellow paper plates and the grainy photos of the black sedan provide limited evidence to track down the suspects, but the family is hopeful that the people responsible will be caught and brought to justice.

Anyone with information about the suspects is encouraged to contact police.

The family has also set up a GoFundMe account to help during the trying time. If you would like to donate to the GoFundMe, you may do so here. Please note that GoFundMe takes a percentage of donations.