ATM robber wounded in struggle for gun with security guard
Moreno Valley CA July 23 2020
A life-or-death struggle for a gun between an ATM robber and a Loomis security guard in Moreno Valley on Friday, July 17, ended with the robber apparently being shot and the guard surviving — even though the guard at one point looked down the muzzle of his own weapon.
The suspect’s condition had not been publicly announced as of 8 p.m. Friday.
The attempted robbery happened just before noon at a standalone Bank of America ATM in a shopping center at the corner of Ironwood Avenue and Heacock Street.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department had released little information about the fight. But witness Matt Taylor videotaped much of the incident — as did a second witness — and recounted what he saw in an interview.
Taylor, a 54-year-old Moreno Valley resident, said he had just ordered food at a Mexican restaurant and was gazing out toward the parking lot when he saw two men near the ATM, where a Loomis truck had pulled up. He looked away, and when he looked back, he saw the orange-shirted robber wrestling with the guard on the ground for control of the gun.
“There were four hands on it,” Taylor said.
Taylor said he could see the robber bleeding — he believes because of a gunshot — before the robber ripped the gun out of the guard’s hand and tossed it away.
As Taylor films, a woman he described as a restaurant employee can be heard off-camera calling 911 and describing the incident to a dispatcher.
In the video, the robber can be seen on top of the guard for about 10 seconds before both men crawl after the gun. The robber gets to it first, spins, sits down facing the guard and points the gun at him.
The gun didn’t fire, Taylor said.
“I think that security guard is extremely lucky to be alive,” Taylor said.
In the video, the guard then stumbles over to the robber and waves his hand toward the gun, which eventually flies out of the robber’s hand. As the gun lands, the bullets appear to pop out, Taylor said. The guard then retrieves the gun and points it at the robber, holding the weapon with both hands.
Seconds later, Taylor said, deputies arrived.
“I was kind of freaking out,” he said.
Taylor said the robber, bleeding from his stomach and head, lay on his back and didn’t move. Paramedics quickly loaded him into an ambulance, Taylor said.
A second video, posted on Twitter, showed the fight from a different angle.
“I’m pretty sure the guard has a gun,” a voice on the video says. The robber gets up and disappears behind the ATM. The guard gets up and chases after him, also vanishing from view.
“Did he just get shot?” the voice on the video says.
Long after the incident, a Loomis armored vehicle remained parked with its lights on next to the ATM. The metal door to the ATM hung open, and a bag appeared to be on the ground between the vehicle and ATM. Investigators photographed the vehicle.
