3 wounded in shootout during armored car robbery
Posted on 09/05/2002 3:03:56 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
3 wounded in shootout during armored car robbery
09/05/2002
Robbers wearing hard hats confronted an armored car guard outside a central Oak Cliff bank Wednesday, causing a shootout in the parking lot that left three people wounded.
The guard, a bank customer and one of at least two robbery suspects were shot in the gunbattle just before noon at the State Bank of Texas, 4575 South R.L. Thornton Freeway, officials said. The guard and the customer suffered leg wounds and were treated for minor injuries at hospitals, officials said.
One suspect was shot in the shoulder and was taken to a nearby hospital in a private car about 30 minutes after the robbery. Investigators said the two robbers may have separated after fleeing from the bank. The injured man was likely taken to the hospital by a friend who was not involved in the crime.
Doctors at Charlton Methodist Hospital worked to stabilize the man and later determined that he needed to be taken by helicopter ambulance to a better-equipped trauma center at Methodist Medical Center. He was listed in stable condition Wednesday.
 Police Detective Daniel Cannon photographed evidence outside the State Bank of Texas in central Oak Cliff on Wednesday. A shootout began when an armored car guard was accosted as he brought money out of the bank. (VERNON BRYANT / DMN) |
Authorities are still looking for the second man.
According to police and FBI reports, two men in a brown car pulled up next to the AT Systems armored car about 11:45 a.m. as one of the guards was returning to the vehicle with money from the bank.
A robber wearing a bright blue hard hat and work clothes confronted the guard at the armored vehicle, investigators said. Witnesses said they heard at least a half dozen gunshots coming from the parking lot. The guard, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was struck in the leg along with a customer who was leaving the bank building as the robbery unfolded.
After the robber was shot in the shoulder, he returned to a partner in the waiting car and sped away with an undisclosed amount of money.
Officials at AT Systems declined to comment in detail about the robbery but said the two guards are experienced employees.
E-mail rtharp@dallasnews.com
I'm guessing the guard missed his real aiming point. Too bad.
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