Police Ask Public for Help in Finding Woman’s Murderer : Violence: Robber shot mother of two in front of her children and friends while in drive-through lane of a fast-food restaurant.

Los Angeles police appealed for information Monday to help capture the gunman who shot and killed a woman in front of her two children in the drive-through lane at a fast-food restaurant in South-Central Los Angeles.

Anita G. Robertson, 30, of Los Angeles was confronted by the gunman Friday night shortly after she had placed her order at the Jack in the Box restaurant at 103rd Street and Central Avenue. Police said Robertson, her two children, a friend and her friend’s three children were in Robertson’s white van at the time of the murder.

After Robertson finished placing her order, the gunman leaned into the car and demanded her purse, said Detective Jerry Johnson. “There was a struggle over the purse and she was shot in the chest.” As the car rolled forward and crashed into the curb, Robertson jumped out and tried to run, but collapsed and died in the parking lot, Johnson said. The gunman fled on foot. “It could have happened to anyone,” he said.

Police described the robber as black, between 5 feet 7 and 5 feet 10 inches tall. He wore a tan hat and a dark blue or black trench coat with an insignia on the back. He was armed with a handgun and had a blue bandanna across his face.

Detectives showed poor quality pictures taken of the gunman and a second suspect by a restaurant security video camera as the two approached other cars in the drive-through line before the shooting. As part of the investigation, Johnson said detectives will try to determine whether there have been similar crimes in recent weeks.

“We believed these suspects are local people because they were familiar with the location and hung around a long time,” said Lt. Bruce Hagerty.

Detectives said there were other cars in the line at the time of the shooting and they asked anyone with information to call (213) 237-1310.