Foiled armored car heist near L.A. leaves shopper dead

A Los Angeles police officer stands guard outside the Costco store on Sunday

In this story: Who shot first? 'Shooting as fast as they can' RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

VAN NUYS, California -- Police in the Los Angeles area Monday hunted for one of two gunmen involved in a botched armored car robbery in front of a Costco warehouse store that left one customer dead and two other patrons wounded.

One of the gunmen, wielding an AK-47 assault rifle, sprayed bullets into a crowd of shoppers.

The second suspect, also wounded during the robbery attempt, was arrested Sunday night a few blocks from the crime scene in the San Fernando Valley community of Van Nuys.

"It all happened really fast. It was loud," customer Carlos Barboza said. "I saw one guy carrying a machine gun, and he was turning around shooting at people left and right."

A 29-year-old man, who was headed into the Costco store, suffered a gunshot wound to the head and later died at Valley Presbyterian Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said.

A female shopper was struck in the stomach and leg and was listed in critical condition after undergoing surgery at Holy Cross Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said.

At least four other people were treated at nearby hospitals for non-gunshot injuries.

The Los Angeles Police department said the sheer number of law enforcement officials on duty for the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, about 20 miles south of Van Nuys, actually helped in the capture of one of the suspects.

Despite devoting 2,000 of the department's 9,000 officers to the downtown convention, every division still has officers working 12-hour shifts.

"We actually have more resources," Sgt. John Pasquariello said Sunday night. "It was not an issue of underdeployment. There are usually 10 to 13 vehicles compared to 33 cars tonight."

Who fired first?

Still, the heist took police and customers by surprise on the store's busiest day of the week because there have been few armored car robberies in recent memory, Pasquariello said.

The shooting began about 3 p.m., shortly after an armored car pulled up to the entrance of the Costco store, part of a members-only, bulk-buy discount chain.

An armored car guard who had gone inside to retrieve money was coming back outside when he was approached by a man armed with an AK-47 who demanded the cash.

Gunfire erupted between the man and the guard, but police have not determined who fired first, Lt. Jim Grayson said.

'Shooting as fast as they can'

A second gunman, who was among the crowd in a food court just outside the store, also began shooting as the guard raced into the armored car for protection. The guard held onto the bag of money and was not wounded, police said.

"They were shooting as fast as they can," said Chris Forbess, a mechanic at a nearby Pep Boys store.

The two gunmen then fled empty-handed in a white van as panic spread through the crowd. Within minutes, an off-duty officer spotted a man carrying an AK-47 rifle several blocks from the store and called for help.

The man surrendered to police in a residential area and was taken to an area hospital to be treated for a gunshot wound in the leg. He was shot in the leg either mistakenly by the other gunman or by an armored car guard, police said.

The gunmen apparently had ditched the van because of a flat tire, Pasquariello said. Police using SWAT and canine units combed the area for several hours, but called off the search for the second gunman at 8:20 p.m. Sunday.

The shooting in broad daylight left witnesses rattled.

"My son saw it. He said, 'Dad, he's got a gun."' said Barboza walking away with his 3-year-old son in hand. "We're going to take him to counseling. He's really traumatized."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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