Armed robbers abandon get-away truck at Planned Parenthood

The University of Houston went on alert Friday morning following gunfire during an armored car robbery on campus.

The incident happened about 8 a.m. in front of the University Center, according to a security alert posted on the school’s website.

FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said the incident involved a Loomis armored car carrying two guards.

Dunlap said one of the guards got out at a stop and the driver remained inside. A man then approached the truck and ordered the driver to get out, she said. The man then got in the truck and drove away.

One of the guards fired a shot as the suspect drove away. No injuries were reported, Dunlap said.

The truck was found abandoned on campus a short time later at 4715 Calhoun. It’s unknown if the suspect was wounded in the gunfight.

UH officials said the suspects sped away in a red pickup, which was found abandoned at the Planned Parenthood Center for Choice at 34600 Gulf Freeway.

The FBI has no record of a red pickup used in the robbery and say only one suspect is involved. However, Dunlap said a vehicle was found at the Planned Parenthood Center for Choice. It’s not known if it was involved in any robbery, but investigators are looking into that.

A construction worker who witnessed the robbery said a man walked up to the vehicle and ordered the woman out.

“He went up to her and said, ‘Get out of the vehicle.’ She said, ‘You got to be playing.’ He pulled a gun out. She was pregnant. She had to be about eight or nine months pregnant — the driver,” said Emilliano Garcia.

He said after the woman got out, the man took off in the armored truck. Two other suspects followed in a red pickup truck.

Witnesses said the truck guard who was loading the ATM chased the men on foot and fired shots, aiming to shoot out the tires, but it didn’t work.

The armored truck was later found in a campus garage.

No one was injured during the shooting, according to the university.

Police were still searching for the thieves. The FBI and Houston Police Department are involved in the investigation.