A retired law enforcement officer attempting to stop two suspected thieves fired shots at one of them after he attempted to hit him with a car in a Raley's shopping center in Benicia Wednesday, police said.

The incident began when a woman shopping in the Raley's at 890 Southampton Road saw a woman trying to steal a wallet from a shopper inside the store at around 3:15 p.m.

One retired law enforcement officer attempted to prevent the woman from leaving the store, but a struggle broke out and the conflict spilled outside into the parking lot, police said.

Another retired law enforcement officer saw the struggle and attempted to assist.

A second suspect approached the group and took a purse from the woman and left. The second officer followed him to a parked car.

The suspect drove out of a parking stall and hit the retired officer, knocking him to the ground. The retired officer pulled his gun and fired several shots at the vehicle.

Two shots struck the front of the vehicle, and the officer rolled to get out of the path of the car and fired a second shot into the left side of the car.

No one was hit by the gunfire.

A responding Benicia police officer saw the conflict and heard the shots fired and provided a description of the vehicle driving away and its direction as it fled.

Benicia police officers followed the car onto westbound Interstate Highway 780, and the suspect continued fleeing from police, taking the Columbus Parkway exit.

On the exit, the driver threw an item out of the car, later determined to be a woman's wallet taken from a Raley's shopper, police said.

Officers managed to stop the driver in the parking lot of a shopping complex in the 2000 block of Columbus Parkway and arrested him. Police identified him as Stephon Anthony, 50, of Oakland.

The woman who had been confronted inside the store was arrested near the Raley's. She was identified as Arshawn Neal, 46, of Fairfield.

The two were identified by witnesses and booked into Solano County Jail.

The retired officer who had been struck by a car was taken to a hospital and treated for minor injuries.

Anyone with information about this incident has been asked to call Benicia police at (707) 746-4244.