911 calls released in Publix shooting, robbery of armored truck driver

Search continues for man who shot armored truck driver at Publix in Altamonte Springs

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – Seminole County deputies on Monday have released the 911 calls in the shooting of an armored truck driver in the head at an Altamonte Springs Publix during a robbery.

[AUDIO: Warning, content may be graphic: 911 calls released | PICS: Cash carrier shot in head | VIDEO: Watch news conference | Surveillance released]

More than a dozen calls were placed into 911. The calls were made from both employees and customers inside the store last Thursday afternoon.

The 25-year-old victim, who works for Loomis-Fargo, was listed in serious but stable condition after the shooting, which occurred Thursday afternoon at the Publix on State Road 436 at Palm Springs Drive.

Local authorities and the FBI are still searching for the gunman, described by police as a black man wearing a long-sleeved plaid shirt with an orange or purple hat, possibly a Phoenix Suns baseball cap.

According to Altamonte Springs police, the cash carrier was ambushed by a man inside the foyer of the store, between the glass-door entrance and exit.  The gunman fired multiple shots before stealing a bag of money, police said.

A getaway driver was waiting in a gold Nissan Maxima, which was found behind the store at the nearby Royal Arms Condos complex, police said. The gunman and the getaway driver remain on the loose.

"... Please send paramedics over here," one caller told dispatchers. "We are trying to get gauze and everything. There is blood everywhere."

People inside the Publix described the frightening moments they heard gun shots ring out in the front of the store.

Dispatcher: "How many shots did you hear?
Caller: "Um 4.
Dispatcher: "OK, and do you know where the person who got hit is?"
Caller: "They are in the lobby. The managers are in there trying to soak him up. I guess he has, there is a lot of blood and stuff."

On the 911 calls, employees were taking customers into "safe areas" while waiting for police to arrive.

"We are locked in to the employee's area, so we are sitting here right now and one guy is out there, but peeking around," a caller told dispatchers. 

An employee told dispatchers that it appeared the victim's money bag was missing.

"...They shot a Loomis driver. He was either bringing in money or taking money out and he was shot. He was shot in the head," one caller said. "He is on the floor in a pool of blood right now."

As the victim was on the ground in the front entrance, witnesses told emergency crews he was alert and responsive.

Several callers said that they heard the shots, but didn't see the shooter.

Then a man called dispatchers who said that he witnessed a black male with a hat jumping into a car parked on the side of the building, then quickly speeding away.

The witness said that the car took off behind the store. He then told dispatchers that he was inside his own vehicle, driving in search of the suspect. He described the shooter to be in the backseat of the getaway car.

Earlier this month, a Brinks truck driver was robbed of $160,000 at an ATM in Orlando. Two men were arrested in the robbery, but $55,000 remains missing.

Check back for more on this story.


About the Authors:

Troy graduated from California State University Northridge with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication. He has reported on Mexican drug cartel violence on the El Paso/ Juarez border, nuclear testing facilities at the Idaho National Laboratory and severe Winter weather in Michigan.

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