Armored Guard Is Shot in Robbery

A robber shot an armored truck guard four times Thursday outside a Costco in Alhambra, sending hundreds of panicked people running for safety, authorities said.

The shooting caused even more tumult when the guard, confused and bloodied from two shots to his head, staggered inside the store with guns drawn in what he thought was a pursuit of the robber, police said.

The holdup occurred at 3:15 p.m. in the 2200 block of Commonwealth Avenue as the guard walked out of the store with a bag or bags of money, said Alhambra police Sgt. David Nater.

As the guard approached the armored truck, which belongs to AT Systems, the gunman shot him from behind.

The guard fell, but the gunman kept firing at him, police said. Two bullets struck the guard’s head and two hit his shoulder.

“It was a rather brutal robbery,” Nater said.

“He shot the guard, the guard fell to the ground, and he shot him some more. This guy wasn’t playing around.”

The robber took an undisclosed amount of money and ran to a waiting car in the parking lot at the nearby Fremont Inn.

The guard, meanwhile, got up and went into the store, guns drawn, witnesses said.

Employees, who would not give their names on orders from Costco, said the guard walked around the store looking for the gunman. They said he looked disoriented.

Witnesses said people inside the store scattered, dropping merchandise, while some huddled behind cash registers.

Arriving Alhambra police had to “calm the guard down,” Nater said. “We told him to put the guns down.”

The guard, who was not identified, was rushed to a hospital, where he was listed in serious condition.

The driver of the armored truck was in it at the time of the shooting and wasn’t hurt.

AT Systems is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the gunman, who was described as about 5 feet 11, 190 pounds, balding, with dark hair and a mustache.

Police had no description of the driver of the older-model blue Honda Civic used in the getaway.

In January, a Brinks guard was killed and $20,000 was stolen from his armored truck in Anaheim. Last year, a Brinks guard was killed by robbers in the San Fernando Valley. A shootout two years ago at a Costco in Van Nuys between armored guards and gunmen left a shopper dead.

Anyone with information on the Alhambra shooting is asked to call police at (626) 570-5151.