Ambushed: The Murder of Sara Lynne Halsey
A night out turned tragic when she was shot in the chest during an attempted purse snatching.
Sara Lynne Halsey was looking forward to a night out with some of her girlfriends on Friday, May 21, 1993. They were planning to go to The Shark Club in their hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada. Located on East Harmon Avenue just a block off the Las Vegas strip, the club featured live music and was a favorite gathering spot for the young women.
Sara and one of her friends were standing in the parking lot of the club sometime after 11:00 pm, waiting for a few more of their friends to arrive. While they were standing there, a car pulled up alongside them. The passenger in the car, a soft-spoken black woman with a dark complexion, leaned out the window and asked the girls if one of them had a lighter she could use to light her cigarette. Sara immediately opened her purse and reached inside to get her lighter, but the woman wasn’t really interested in smoking. Instead, she grabbed Sara’s purse and tried to yank it away from her.
Startled by the attempted purse snatching, Sara reacted out of instinct and fought to keep her purse. It was the wrong move. A single gunshot rang out, and Sara crumpled to the ground. She had been shot in the chest, and was bleeding profusely. The car…