Reward Offered in Hunt for Guard’s Killers

Brink’s Inc. and the Bank of America on Friday announced a reward of up to $125,000 for information leading to the conviction of two robbers who fatally shot a Brink’s guard this week.

Brink’s executives and police said they had never seen an attack so brutal as the one on Herman Cook, 51, and his partner, Felipe Cortez, 53.

Cortez was sitting in the truck as Cook returned from a Winnetka Bank of America branch at about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday when the robbers opened fire from behind a nearby wall, using military-style semiautomatic rifles with high-caliber bullets, police said. The robbers grabbed a bag of money containing an undisclosed amount of cash and escaped in a dark blue or black Chevrolet Cavalier with tinted windows, police said.

Cook, of Sunland, was struck several times in the upper abdomen and died three hours later. Cortez was struck in the neck, face and chest, but was expected to recover. He was listed in fair condition Friday at Holy Cross Medical Center, and a hospital spokesman said he is continuing to improve.

Police would not identify the ammunition used, but the bullets penetrated the armored steel sides of the Brink’s truck.