Dallas police are asking for the public’s help to identify two people involved in the robbery and murder of an armored car service guard last week.
The Dallas Police Department has released still photos and video footage of the shooter and the car involved in the incident.
Officers responded to a shooting at the 100 block of South Carroll Avenue on Friday around 9:25 a.m., according to DPD.
GardaWorld security officer David Ruback and his partner were making a cash delivery to Big Jim’s Check Cashing business when the suspects, riding in a white Chevrolet Impala, pulled into the parking area of the business.
As Ruback approached the door of the business, a gunman jumped out of the passenger side of the sedan, ran toward the building, and shot Ruback. The suspect snatched the bank envelope containing the money and ran back to the car. The driver and the shooter then sped away.
The suspects in the photos and video can be seen wearing dark clothing, masks, black body armor, gloves, and white shoes.
The business owner said that he and the GardaWorld security officer were the only two people in the building at the time of the robbery. He said he was holding open the door for the security officer when the shooting occurred.
“I didn’t know what to do. They fired six shots at the store where I was standing. And all the bullets went around me and hit him,” said the owner, per WFAA.
“He spared my life because when he came in to get the bag, the guy he pointed the gun at me, and I said, ‘Please don’t kill me,’… and they took off,” the business owner said.
Ruback, 52, was rushed to the hospital, where he later died, per DPD. The second GardaWorld employee was inside the armored vehicle and was not injured during the incident.
Michael Widders had just left Big Jim’s Check Cashing when he saw the shooting unfold.
“This happened in like a second, running into the door,” he said, per Fox 4 KDFW. “Right when I see him get to the door, gunfire went off, and I hit the floor. And I wasn’t getting up until I heard people talking.”
Terry Ball, Ruback’s girlfriend, said that the suspects have “taken a big part of our lives… [T]hey’ve taken our loved one away.”
“I have to come to terms that if they never catch them, I may never get closure,” she added, according to WFAA. “I just don’t want this to happen to someone else.”
A statement released by GardaWorld said it is “focused on deploying the necessary resources to support our people and working closely with the authorities in their investigation,” per Fox 4.
Police released photos of the suspects and are asking anyone with information on the shooting to call 911.
This shooting comes as Dallas continues to experience high rates of crime across the city. There have already been 169 murders reported through September 4, a 6.3% increase over this period in 2022, according to the Dallas crime analytics dashboard.
Crime rates in Dallas may be high due to a shortage of available officers. A city report previously determined that 4,000 officers would be needed to manage crime based on the city’s population, but Dallas currently only employs roughly 3,100 officers.
Specialized patrol units like the one implemented in nearby Fort Worth have shown success, resulting in significantly lower crime rates in downtown areas where they are deployed compared to Dallas.