Mother shot, daughter pistol-whipped during robbery in Queens hotel parking lot

SOUTH OZONE PARK, Queens (WABC) -- A 53-year-old Maryland woman is stable after she was shot while attempting to stop of the robbery of her 20-year-old daughter in the parking lot of a Queens hotel Thursday night.

The incident happened at the Hampton Inn on 135th Avenue in South Ozone Park around 8:45 p.m.

The victim, an English teacher, had left her daughter in the passenger's seat of her car while she went inside, when police say a masked suspect jumped out of a vehicle parked directly behind them.

Authorities say the suspect opened the driver's-side door, pistol-whipped the daughter and demanded her jewelry.

The mother returned to the car and confronted the suspect, and during a struggle, she was shot once in the chest.

The suspect, who was wearing a ski mask, fled with at least one other man in a white sedan. The mother's wallet and cell phone were taken, as was the daughter's rings.

The mother was rushed in critical condition to Jamaica Hospital, where she has since been upgraded to stable. The daughter was taken to Queens Hospital Center to be checked out.

The investigation is ongoing, and no arrests have been made.

Police say there is an ongoing pattern with two other similar robberies in the area, one of them in the same hotel parking lot, and they are looking to see if they are linked.

Hotel surveillance video shows a white Volkswagen Jetta with New York license plates following the victims' car into the parking lot and stopping directly behind it.