Cops: California store owner fires at shoplifters, hits girl

VICTORVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Police say a Southern California shoe store owner opened fire at two shoplifters but mistakenly shot and wounded a 9-year-old girl about to have her picture taken with a mall Easter bunny. The suspect fled the state and was arrested in Nevada. Authorities say Marquel Cockrell was chasing the shoplifters from his store in the mall in the city of Victorville Tuesday and fired multiple shots. The girl’s grandmother says she was shot twice in the arm. She was airlifted to a hospital in stable condition. Nevada State Police arrested Cockrell several hours later. Records did not indicate if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.