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Suspect Dies, Officer Hurt In Bay Area Robbery Shootout

PINOLE, Calif. (AP) -- One suspect is dead and a police officer was wounded Wednesday following an attempted robbery of an armored truck outside a Northern California bank, police said.

The incident took place outside a Wells Fargo Bank branch at a Pinole shopping plaza near Interstate 80 shortly after 9 a.m. Police said two men were trying to rob a Loomis armored truck and were confronted by a female truck guard.

A shootout ensued and during the exchange of gunfire, a suspect and the guard were shot and wounded, Pinole Police Chief John Hardester said.

Two police officers who arrived on the scene confronted a second suspect and that suspect and an officer were both struck by gunfire, Hardester said.

Witnesses say the second suspect collapsed and died in the middle of a main street after he tried to run from the scene. The officer was struck in the shoulder before he fatally shot the suspect, police said.

The wounded officer is an Air Force veteran who has been on the Pinole force for two years, Hardester said.

The first suspect shot who also fled the scene was later arrested after he showed up at a hospital in nearby San Pablo, police said.

All of the wounded are expected to survive, Hardester said. The names of those involved have not been released.

Darius Johnson, 30, of Richmond told reporters Wednesday that he had just driven into the shopping center parking lot when he saw one of the suspects running from the scene.

"I looked up and saw a guy running through the intersection with a bag in his hand," Johnson said. "I heard a couple of shots and saw him fall."

Johnson said the suspect appeared to be carrying a yellow bank bag.

Investigators were still interviewing witnesses and officers about the incident as they were trying to determine if the wounded officer was shot by the suspect or another officer.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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