Man Shot Allegedly Trying To Steal Armored Truck At Arlington Bank
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ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) - A would-be robber at an Arlington bank gets the tables turned and winds up on the receiving end of a gun shot. It happened when he allegedly tried to boost the guard of an armored truck.
Police say the truck was parked in the drive-up lane at the Bank of America at Green Oaks Blvd. and Little Road. The guard had his key in the ATM machine, ready to fill it. Ashley Kemper was parked in the lane, too, and was stunned at what she saw.
"I was in shock. Like, complete shock," said Kemper.
But Kemper, who works at the Fix It Fast Cellular repair store across Green Oaks, did have the presence of mind to grab her cell phone and take pictures after a man wearing a hoodie sprayed something on the armored truck guard. "You see what's kind of in his hand and he starts taking off running and the other guys just pulls out, and it's like '1-2-3!'" She adds, "He (the suspect) just went down automatically and hit the ground."
Police say the man in the hoodie arrived alone in a pickup without license tags. And there were actually two guards, including one inside the armored truck. "A lot of the companies will travel with multiple guards and they'll travel with firearms as well," according to Arlington Police Public Information Lieutenant Christopher Cook.
Manny Alvardo heard the gunfire just a few doors away at the Auto Bath Car Wash. "We heard, like, 4 or 5 gun shots, pretty loud."
Alvarado says it brought back bad memories of Carl Wilson's shooting back in January, an 18-year-old killed just down the road. "It's kind of scary, yeah, knowing the kid down the street got shot as well. So, it's just too close to home."
No one but the suspect was reported injured, though a bullet did pierce a window at a medical clinic next door to where Shane McCauley was working. "The guy (robbery suspect) was doing wrong and obviously they stopped him, so, good job for the armored truck guy," McCauley said.
But Arlington police tell us they'll continue investigating, according to Lt. Cook. "Obviously with any type of shooting incident our investigators will look to determine if the force was justified, just as if this was a police officer involved or any other citizen."
So far police aren't identifying the suspect or the guards. They also are not revealing exactly how many shots they think were fired.
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