SANTA MONICA : Brink’s Guard Wounded in Attempted Robbery
A Brink’s guard was critically wounded Wednesday in a failed robbery attempt at a Santa Monica bank, police said.
The guard, whose name was not released pending notification of relatives, was shot once in the chest during a gunfight with two men at a Bank of America branch near the Santa Monica Airport.
Santa Monica police said the two gunmen and a third male suspect fled after the 9:40 a.m. shooting and are still at-large.
The trio had been loitering in the bank for several minutes before the arrival of the Brink’s car, Santa Monica police Lt. Bill Brucker said. Two Brink’s guards had pushed a cart of coins into the bank and were bringing in currency when the gun battle began, Brucker said.
One guard was hit immediately, and the other exchanged gunfire with the suspects as customers and employees dropped to the floor. The three suspects ran from the bank without stealing any money, fleeing in a blue car parked nearby.
The guard was taken by paramedics to UCLA Medical Center, where he was undergoing surgery Wednesday afternoon, a hospital spokesman said.
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