Mother of two shot dead in attempted robbery in California

Attempted robbery victim Xuxia Chen was shot dead at the hotel where she worked as a clerk.

ALHAMBRA, California — A 45-year-old motel clerk married to a Filipino was shot to death during an attempted robbery here just before 11 p.m. Friday, June 2.

The crime took place at the Ambassador Inn in the 2700 block of Valley Boulevard. The victim, Xiuxia Chen, also known as Michelle Chen, was working behind the counter when a male suspect attempted to rob her at gunpoint.

Chen was shot in the torso at least once. She was pronounced dead at the scene. She had been working at the Ambassador for six years.

Armando Escandor and Xuxia Chen with their children.

“It’s hard, devastating,” Armando Escandor, Chen’s husband of 23 years, told CBS News 2. “Even for my daughter. We just want to be strong, strong because we don’t have any family or relatives here.”

The couple had two children, their son serving overseas with the US Navy.

Escandor arrived to pick up his wife at 11:30 p.m. and said he saw police and crime scene tape and didn’t know what was going on.  After waiting for several hours, he learned his wife had been shot to death.