A guard of an armored car was killed and a second person was wounded after two gunmen opened fire at the Lakewood Wal-Mart store Tuesday afternoon, police said.
Witnesses told police the Loomis guard had just picked up some money at the Anchor Bank inside the store at 7001 Bridgeport Way West just after 1:30 p.m.
As he was walking out of the store, two men walked up and shot the guard, said Det. Ed Troyer with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. A second person inside the store was also wounded in the shoulder by the same bullet, police said. That victim was holding a small child in their other arm, but the child was not hurt.
The guard died at the scene, Troyer said. The wounded person was rushed to Tacoma General Hospital. It’s not known what condition he or she is in, but the injuries were not life-threatening.
The gunmen grabbed the bag of money and raced away from the scene in a white car before police arrived.
Store employees described a chaotic scene.
“I heard a lot of screaming – everyone, ladies throwing their stuff everywhere,” said Rose Zamora, who works in the Wal-Mart photo shop. “I kept one little kid safe – I didn’t even know where his mom was at – I just threw my smock over him to make sure he was OK. Then I saw his mom and gave him back to his mom.”
Cashier Nora Sabin also saw the shooter.
“He was just waving the gun,” she said. “I was so scared he was gonna come in and shoot more people.”
The victim was identified by Loomis officials as 39-year-old Kurt Husted. He was a 15-year veteran of the company. He was not married.
Pat Flahurty with the Loomis Corporation said Husted typically wore an armored vest, but police say he was shot in the head.
Troyer released two photos of the suspected gunman, taken from the store’s surveillance cameras.
The first suspect is a black man, about 6 feet tall with an average build. He was wearing a white hat with colored trim across the bill, a long-sleeve white shirt and black pants.
Suspect No. 1:
The second suspect is a black man who is 6 feet to 6 feet 2 inches tall. He was wearing a blue baseball hat, a blue short-sleeve button-up shirt over a white T-shirt and blue jeans.
Suspect No. 2:
They were driving a 1993 white Buick Skylark. The car was found ditched in Tacoma at South 66th Street and South Monroe Street just after 3 p.m. Video from Air4 showed crime tape surrounding a yard in a nearby home and officers with police dogs searching the area, but officials haven’t given any information from that scene yet.
If you see these two men or know where they might be, call 911immediately. They are considered armed and dangerous.
Nearby Mount Tahoma High School was locked down for about an hour as a precaution.
In a statement, Wal-Mart officials said their thoughts and prayers are with those who were victimized by this tragedy.
“We appreciate the quick response of local authorities, and we are working with them in their investigation. The store is temporarily closed while police investigate.”
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I feel more strongly about this than the Holocaust shooting! They claim major racism at the Holocaust museum shooting, but nothing here apart from a robbery!