Armed robbery leaves 1 critical; 3 on the run

Police are tonight searching the city for a van and three people believed to be involved in a mid morning armed hold up and shooting near Lord Ridge Cemetery on the Western Highway. According to police Press Officer G. Michael Reid, two men identified as Ernesto Granedos and Daniel Moreno were on their way to the airport around ten-thirty this morning, but when their car broke down on Banak Street, they hailed a taxi. Police say it was then that a green van with taxi license plates, driven by a man with dreadlocks picked up Granedos and Moreno. Two people were already inside. Within minutes Granedos and Moreno were held up by the van’s passengers. During the ensuing struggle, Granedos was shot in the neck and while Moreno escaped without injury, he was relieved of a large sum of money he was carrying in order to buy a vehicle in the United States. After the shooting, the critically wounded Granedos and Moreno were pushed out of the van and the vehicle sped off. That vehicle is believed to still be within city limits and anyone with information about this morning’s shooting is asked to please call the crime stoppers hotline at 9-2-2 or the nearest police station.