Man shot after attempted armored-car robbery at South Seattle McDonald's

A would-be robber was shot and critically wounded Sunday morning when he tried to snatch a money bag from an armored-car security guard outside a South Seattle McDonald's restaurant, police said.

The 40-year-old man was shot three times, once in the arm and twice in the chest, after he confronted the Garda armored-car worker at about 10:20 a.m., Seattle police spokeswoman Reneé Witt said.

Witt said the guard was returning to the armored car when the attacker approached him from behind, knocked him to the ground and tried to wrest away the money bag.

The guard, who was armed, fired six shots during the encounter, Witt said. He was not injured. Witt said the guard feared for his safety but she didn't know whether the attacker was armed or whether he implied he had a weapon.

"I know there was a verbal exchange between the suspect and the guard when the suspect grabbed the money bag and tried to snatch it out of the guard's hand," she said.

Police didn't release the names of the guard or the suspect.

Witt said the employee works as a "runner" who picks up or drops off cash from businesses while the driver stays behind inside the armored car. "The driver cannot leave the vehicle under any circumstances," she said.

When police arrived at the McDonald's in the 9300 block of Rainier Avenue South, in Rainier Beach, they found the wounded man on the ground, Witt said. Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Dana VanderHowen said the man was taken to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

He was listed in critical condition, a spokeswoman for Harborview said.

A woman who works at H&R Block, a tax-preparation outlet across the street from the McDonald's, said she saw the shooting occur. The Garda employee was walking back to his vehicle after leaving the restaurant when he was confronted by a heavyset man, said the woman, who didn't want to be identified.

"We just looked up and saw it all happen," she said. "We heard the shots and saw him fall to the ground."

The confrontation lasted just a few seconds, she said.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com