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A Circle K clerk followed a suspected shoplifter. Then she was shot in the chest

Police say the 23-year-old suspect is facing attempted second-degree murder charges.

EL MIRAGE, Ariz. — A 23-year-old Arizona woman was arrested after she reportedly shot a convenience store clerk who thought she was shoplifting, according to the El Mirage Police Department. 

Police said Friday, around 5:25 a.m., El Mirage officers received a 911 call reporting a woman had been shot near the entrance of the Rosewood Estates Trailer Park near Grand Avenue and Greenway Road.

When officers arrived on the scene, they found the victim, a woman in her 30s, at the complex's entrance with a gunshot wound to the chest. Police said she was transported to the hospital in serious but stable condition.

Police said during their investigation, officers obtained video of a female with a handgun threatening the victim several blocks from where the shooting occurred. 

An officer who was securing the crime scene observed a vehicle preparing to exit the trailer park and recognized the female from the video seated in the passenger seat. Officers arrested the passenger, Kiana Viola, 23, of El Mirage.

Police said preliminary information suggests Viola and another man went to a Circle K store a few blocks from the trailer park. Authorities said the victim, who was an employee of the store, reportedly observed Viola shoplift several items.

Police said the victim followed Viola out of Circle K and continued to follow her on foot to the trailer park, where Viola is suspected of shooting the 30-year-old victim.

Authorities said officers found a semi-automatic handgun in Viola's possession. 

Police said Viola was booked into jail for attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm, unlawful discharge of firearms and endangerment.

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