SAN DIEGO : Taxi Driver Shot During Robbery

A 34-year-old cabdriver was shot in the chest in Mission Valley Tuesday night by a passenger who apparently tried to rob him, police said.

Dung Tran, a driver for Yellow Cab, was shot once in the upper chest about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday by a passenger who demanded money at gunpoint, police spokesman Bill Robinson said.

Tran picked up the passenger from the Mission Valley Inn on Hotel Circle South at about 9:30 p.m., Robinson said.

En route to an unknown destination, the passenger flashed a .45-caliber pistol and demanded money. When Tran refused, the passenger shot him once in the chest and escaped on foot, Robinson said.

Tran was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital, where he was reported in fair condition Tuesday.

Police found the gun used in the shooting in a bush nearby, Robinson said.

The assault is the second recent attack. Three weeks ago, Jackson Jones, a Yellow Cab driver, was found shot to death behind the wheel of his cab in East San Diego after a robbery attempt.

Jones’ death marked the fifth time since 1989 that a San Diego cabdriver had been shot and killed. Last year, two drivers were killed and 51 were robbed while on duty. In 1990, one driver was killed and 59 were robbed, San Diego police said.