Armed Robber at Toco Hills Shopping Center Kills Armored Car Driver
Decatur Metro | March 15, 2011 | 2:26 pmUPDATE: Steve reports in the comments that news orgs are now reporting that the armored car driver has died.
North Druid Hills Patch is reporting that an armed robber shot and critically injured an armored car driver at the Toco Hills Shopping Center early this afternoon. Patch’s Jonathan Cribbs reports that the robber “shot several times without warning at the armored car parked in front of the Kroger grocery store at 2205 Lavista Road at about noon”. The amount of money taken from the armored car has not been disclosed.
The report notes that this is the seventh in a recent string of armored car robberies around Atlanta.
The AJC’s write-up about the incident says that the gunman jumped into a waiting car and that Kroger’s surveillance cameras captured the whole event.
I have seen an unconfirmed report from an eyewitness personally known to me that the guard died.
Channel 46 news is reporting that in fact the guard was fatally shot.
That’s such a thankless job – poor guy.
Thanks for the update Steve. Very sad news.
How scary!
There had to be dozens of people around at that time of day. I’m amazed that more people weren’t injured.
I sincerely hope that the guard will recover and that whoever did this is apprehended swiftly.
Recently, someone (honestly can’t remember who) told me that there is alot of crime at Toco Hills. I found that very surprising. I’m over there pretty often, and the large majority of people there are Orthodox/Conservative Jews, Emory students, senior citizens and professionals grabbing lunch. Not exactly a “scary” bunch. I know these types of heists can happen anywhere, but has anyone else heard the same about Toco Hills? And if so, why? Not near interstate, bad neighborhoods, etc. Regardless, I am so sorry for this man and his family.
I’ve not heard that.
I’m not surprised because it is not that far from 85 and is at the intersection of two busy thoroughfares–N. Druid Hills and LaVista. It draws from a wide area. Whereas Emory Commons draws from a narrower area and feels more safe. However, I remember when Emory Commons had an A&P and tons of shoplifting and more crime. The shopping center that feels least safe to me is the Big Kroger–it’s a combination of the particular selection of retail stores and food establishments and the huge, fairly dark parking lot. I feel positively unsafe at the isolated Kroger gas kiosks late at night. (But the Kroger Plus Card discount gets me there anyway.)
You go through all that anxiety for a $2/tank (3%) discount?
The percentage varies by the price of gas, no? It’s a discount of 10 cents per gallon, whatever the price happens to be.
Is it worth it? I don’t know. Some argue that my use of manufacturer’s coupons isn’t worth it if one looks at the savings per hour spent on the activity. Or my waiting for sales before catalog shopping. But the savings do add up and my salary is a straight salary whether or not I spend any time on these saving activities. I don’t think I’m taking away time from my family so it’s probably just taking away time from personal activities like eating bon-bons while doing my nails.
In terms of is it worth it in terms of safety–again I don’t know. The Decatur bank robberies and this incident are all happening in broad daylight in well-trafficked, safe-seeming areas. So go figure.
I’m just giving you a hard time. I remember your previous post about that parking lot. I do the same thing sometimes by driving out of my way to save 10 cents but without the anxiety over the parking lot. I do shop at that Kroger so I try to time my fill ups with my shopping.
This is horrible and depressing. Poor guy goes to work in the morning and never comes back. Probably working hard to support a wife and family.I guess these guys don’t get issued kevlar vests?
Wouldn’t have mattered, he was shot in the back of the head. Yes, that’s right, he was not just shot, he was executed on the spot.
That’s what makes this so disturbing.
I have talked to someone who heard the shooting and witnessed the immediate aftermath. A woman with an SUV was heading toward the armored car just as the shooting occurred and had to start backing up frantically after she saw what happened. Evidently, it was a well-orchestrated event by a team that has done this before, with the shooting of the guard in the head being intentional knowing that guards wear Kevlar vests and not in response to resistance, using a stolen car that then drove to the getaway car on a nearby residential street and was abandoned there.
So I now don’t think that the relative safety of the shopping center was a factor. This robbery and murder could have happened anywhere that has regular armored car pickup of cash, just like at this Kroger.