HOUSTON – Federal investigators were on the scene of a deadly shooting and robbery until 10 p.m. Thursday night, almost eight hours after it happened.
Three masked men ambushed the Brinks armored truck, which was parked in front of the Capital One Plaza in the 5700 block of Westheimer Road, near the intersection of Chimney Rock.
"We had two guards from Brinks here doing their duties when three masked men approached them, opened fire on one of them," said Kese Smith with the Houston Police Department. "One of the guards, a second guard fired back."
That woman, who was the driver of the truck, was trying to protect herself and her co-worker, a man she had worked with side-by-side for many years, her family told KPRC 2 News.
Sadly, the partner, identified as 60-year-old Alvin Kinney, was hit by the robber's bullet and died at the hospital.
"My mom, you know, was crying, she was in a frantic state," said Krystle Reed, the woman's daughter. "He was like a friend of the family. That's her friend, she was trying to protect him. She's a protector."
Reed said her mom has driven a truck for Brinks for the past 10 years, a job she loved but her family did not. Reed said they always knew it was dangerous and reminded her to wear her bulletproof vest when she left for work every day. Â
"She needs to get a new job," Reed said. "It's just too dangerous."
Police located the robbers' getaway car a short time after the shooting, it was only a few blocks away.
Their white, Ford F-250 pickup truck was abandoned in a parking garage. The men were not inside and remain on the run.
Investigators with the FBI and the Houston Police Department continue to investigate. Since the suspects were wearing masks they don't have any descriptions of what they look like.
It's unclear if they got away with any money in the robbery.Â
Anyone with information in this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.Â