Pinole Officer Shot During Bank Robbery

Officer shot and airlifted to nearby hospital in shoot out following bank robbery

A wild scene of flying bullets broke out at a Wells Fargo Bank in Pinole Wednesday morning, according to witnesses.

In the end, police said four people were shot, including a Pinole police officer and a Loomis security guard. Police said one of the robbery suspects was shot and killed. Police said the fourth person was a second bank robbery suspect who took himself to a hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound.

It appears the robbery started with the delivery or pick up of cash by the Loomis car. Pinole police were called to a Wells Fargo bank on Fitzgerald Drive at 9:20 a.m. for a report of  shots fired.

Video from the scene showed a body laying in the middle of Fitzgerald Drive outside the bank. It also showed an Loomis armored car parked in a no parking zone just outside the bank's front door.

A woman named Lupita Ramirez, who works at the Great Clips Pinole Vista Crossing in the same strip mall as the bank,  said she heard five shots. She also saw someone running. Ramirez said police told them to stay inside and lock their doors. Crepsi junior high school was also under lockdown orders following the shooting.

Police could be seen searching the area. Contra Costa County sheriff's officer Jimmy Lee said that one suspect was still at large and was considered armed and dangerous. That is the man police said went to a hospital for treatment.

Police said the Pinole officer was shot in the shoulder and is expected to recover. He is a two year veteran of the force and former member of the U.S. Air Force.

They said the security guard who was injured was a woman. A spokeperson at Loomis had no comment on the incident but said the female guard was working with a partner this morning. Apparently that partner walked away without injury.

Contact Us