Woman Shot And Killed While Driving In Orange County ID'd

ORANGE, CA — Authorities have identified a woman who was shot to death while driving a vehicle Tuesday morning in Orange.

The woman was driving a Honda SUV southbound on Highland Street, toward Del Mar Avenue, when an unidentified gunman fired multiple rounds into the vehicle at about 12:30 a.m., according to the Orange Police Department.

The victim was identified as Amber Nicole Parsons, 24, of Costa Mesa, according to sheriff's Sgt. Gerard McCann.

"She was driving the car in a low-income, high-density neighborhood, kind of one of our gang neighborhoods," said Lt. Phil McMullin of the Orange Police Department.

Parsons and her passenger, another woman in her 20s, were headed down a cul de sac and turning around when the gunman opened fire, McMullin said.

The friend lives in Orange, McMullin said.

The two did not have any obvious reason for being in the neighborhood as the passenger, who escaped injury, lives elsewhere in the city, McMullin said.

Parsons was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect fled the scene on foot, but no further description was immediately available.

The shooting occurred in the same place where Victor Manuel Trinidad is accused of opening fire on police in November, McMullin said.

Investigators have been "going door to door looking for stuff like cameras, witnesses, any evidence left behind," McMullin said.

"We haven't had a homicide in two years," McMullin told City News Service.

Anyone with information regarding the killing was urged to call the department at 714-744-7571.

Anonymous tips can be made to Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-847-6227 or by visiting occrimestoppers.org.

City News Service contributed to this report.