[symple_googlemap title=”Wild crime spree in Santa Ana” location=”3300 block of West Fifth Street, Santa Ana, CA” height=”300″ zoom=”16″]
A woman who allegedly embarked on a wild crime spree and was shot by police after leading officers on a chase while riding a bicycle and wielding a knife was hospitalized Wednesday, but was expected to survive.
Alma Ramirez, 27, of Santa Ana, was shot in the 3300 block of West Fifth Street on Tuesday night, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said.
“I don’t know if she was on drugs, or mentally ill or just a criminal, but that will all be sorted out in the investigation,” Bertagna said.
Police were initially called about 7:50 p.m. Tuesday on a report that a woman was trying to stab a man with a large butcher knife near Fifth Street and Mountain View, Bertagna said.
The suspect then allegedly attempted to carjack an elderly couple, stabbing the vehicle owner in the process, he said.
After that, she got into a confrontation with two other men, but no one was injured in that conflict, Bertagna said. She next allegedly tried to break into a business in the 4400 block of West Fifth Street, then jumped on a bike and started riding away, waving around the knife, Bertagna said.
“That’s when the officers got there and they see her riding the bike, waving the knife,” Bertagna said.
It’s unclear if it was her bike or belonged to someone else, he said.
Police blocked off intersections as she kept pedaling east, but she was forced to stop when the bike’s chain fell off, “then she starts waving the large knife at a policeman,” Bertagna alleged.
The suspect started backing off, heading toward Cesar Chavez Campesino Park, where she allegedly began “advancing” on a man driving out of the park, Bertagna said. That’s when the officer-involved shooting happened, he said.
Ramirez was wounded in the lower torso and underwent surgery, but she’s expected to survive, Bertagna said. She will booked when her condition permits, Bertagna said.
Witnesses recorded video of the rampage down Fifth Street that has been posted online and appears to be going “viral,” Bertagna said.
The elderly carjacking victim, whose name was withheld, was treated at the scene but did not require hospitalization, Bertagna said.
—City News Service