It was a scene befitting a Hollywood true crime drama: A prominent Beverly Hills publicist was gunned down in her Mercedes-Benz after attending a movie premiere, sending the luxury car careening into a light post near Sunset Boulevard.
Police said Ronni Chasen was shot in the chest several times and killed early Tuesday in an attack that stunned Hollywood, where she was a revered figure after promoting the Oscar-winning film "Driving Miss Daisy" and other major movies and stars over the years.
Police had no motive or suspects and said no threats had been reported against the 64-year-old Chasen. The mystery deepened later in the day when police seized computers from her firm, Chasen and Co.
Fellow publicist Howard Bragman called the killing bizarre.
"She wasn't a shady character," he said. "It's a small community and she was one of the fixtures in it."
Calls and e-mails to representatives of Chasen and Co. were not immediately returned.
Witnesses said they heard gunshots in the serene Beverly Hills neighborhood and called 911 before going outside to help.
"I heard the 'Boom! Boom! Boom!' of gunshots, ran up to the window, and there was the back of the car," Nahid Schekarchian, who lives in an apartment above the crash site, told The Associated Press.
She said her daughter-in-law called 911 and her son and a neighbor ran down to the car and found Chasen, who was struggling to breathe and bleeding from her nose and chest.
The front passenger's window was shattered.
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