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Cancun police thwart armed money exchange robbery

Cancun, Q.R. — UPDATED: One of two suspects in a morning armed robbery attempt in Cancun have been arrested. The male was taken into custody after an exchange of gunfire with police who saw the robbery attempt in progress from their new office.

The incident happened around 10:30 a.m. Monday at a money exchange in central Cancun near the entrance to the Hotel Zone. A client who was at the window exchanging currency was approached by an armed man and woman who demanded his cash.

Across the street from the money exchange building on Cobá Avenue were officers in a new FGE office. Seeing what was happening, police intercepted the cash robbery which lead to the armed pair running away and firing at responding officers in the process.

After a brief exchange of gunfire, the male suspect was hit but kept running. His female companion took off on foot in a different direction. When the gunman realized he was cornered, he carjacked an SUV and began a second bullet attack against police but was intercepted in the vehicle with the stolen money.

Police saw the robbery in progress from their new FGE office across the street. Photo: August 12, 2024.

The injured shooter was taken to hospital under police guard. The woman remains on the run. Police continue their search for her. Ministerial police reported no other injuries in the early morning robbery.

In a Monday afternoon news briefing, the the FGE reported “the first attack took place after two assailants, one male and one female, tried to flee in a vehicle parked on Brisa Street where elements of the Investigative Police blocked their way, resulting in a gunfight in which the male was injured.

“The criminals, seeing themselves cornered, tried to flee in different directions, so the subject intercepted a driver who was driving along Cielo Street to violently rob her of her vehicle and try to escape with the stolen money, still unquantified.

FGE head Raciel López Salazar gave a press update Monday afternoon on the Cancun shootout. Photo: August 12, 2024.

“Meters further on, he was reached by elements of the Ministerial Police, registering a second confrontation with gunshots, managing to subdue the injured assailant for which he was transferred, as a detainee, to a hospital in this city where he receives medical attention.

“Following this incident, the State Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation for the crime of aggravated robbery to determine the whereabouts of the female assailant, who fled towards Supermanzana 2A.”