It happened around 5:15pm in the 500 block of El Dorado Boulevard at Highway 3. The shopping center is a popular crossroads for shopping and running errands, but it was surrounded by crime scene tape Monday night.
According to investigators, an armored truck driver and guard were making a routine cash pickup when employees at several nearby restaurants became eyewitnesses to the crime.
"We were pretty shocked," witness Maria Vargas said. "Everything happened so quickly."
Officers said a man pointed a pistol at the armored truck employees. As the suspect ran away with a bag of cash, the truck security officer fired two shots at him. One hit the suspect as he was getting into a vehicle, police said.
"He got him in the leg. And he dropped the bag and got in, then sped off," Vargas said.
"Just doesn't seem like the smartest thing to do," shopper Lynda Williams said. "They really have their stuff together, so I think this pretty much proves not a good thing to try and attempt."
Authorities recovered the stolen money and processed the crime scene as the shopping went on.
"Fortunately, nobody got hurt and the armored people are well trained, and they do their job right," shopper Arnold Williams said.
Within a couple of hours, a wounded man showed up at LBJ Hospital and fit the suspect description.
"I guess they need to get a job or something, because this ain't working out," Arnold Williams said.
This is the sixth armored car robbery or attempted robbery in the Houston area we've reported on since 2012. The most recent was in June, when two armed robbers exchanged gunfire with the guards on an armored vehicle. That hold up was unsuccessful and the gunmen ran away.
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