Police said stolen money boxes were tracked from the scene to a gray pickup on Interstate 45.
CONROE, TX — A Brinks security guard was critically wounded while servicing a Bank of America ATM in Conroe on Monday morning, and the suspected gunman later died after shooting himself during a police stop on Interstate 45, authorities said.
The shooting drew a large response across Conroe and shut down part of a busy highway corridor as city police, sheriff’s deputies and state troopers searched for the suspect. Investigators said the robbery began at an ATM on North Frazier Street, where money boxes were taken after the guard was shot. The case remained active Tuesday, with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI assisting as police worked to confirm the suspect’s identity, reconstruct the gunman’s movements and review evidence from the scene and the pickup.
Police said officers were called at about 8:23 a.m. Monday to a welfare check at a Bank of America ATM in the 1900 block of N. Frazier St. While units were on the way, dispatchers got more information from witnesses who reported that a security guard had possibly been shot and that a gray pickup truck had left the area. When officers arrived, they found the Brinks guard wounded and began life-saving measures before Montgomery County Hospital District EMS took him to a nearby hospital. Authorities later identified him as Quang Truong, 59, of Spring. Police Chief Jon Buckholtz said the guard was undergoing surgery and remained in critical condition. Investigators said cash or money boxes had been taken from the ATM area during the robbery, setting off an urgent effort to track the stolen property and the fleeing vehicle.
As officers secured the parking lot, police communications staff received location data from 3SI tracking technology attached to stolen money boxes, officials said. That tracking led investigators north toward Interstate 45, where officers from Conroe police, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety located a gray Dodge pickup in the 5000 block of N. IH-45, south of FM 830. Authorities said they conducted a felony traffic stop, but before officers approached the truck, the driver shot himself in the head. He was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead. Police described him only as a 41-year-old white male and said his name was being withheld because of the state of the investigation. Officials said no officers fired their weapons during the stop and no law enforcement personnel were injured. Investigators also said the stolen money was recovered, though they had not publicly detailed the amount or how many boxes were taken.
Witness accounts added a narrow but vivid window into the moments before the shooting. Cathy Bunn, who told local television stations she had pulled up to the ATM shortly before the robbery, said she briefly spoke with the uniformed guard while he was preparing to service the machine. Bunn said the worker told her the ATM would be unavailable for 45 minutes to an hour. She recalled warning him to stay alert and watch his surroundings before she left for another bank location. Surveillance video obtained by a nearby business and described by local media appeared to show a light-colored truck pull up alongside the ATM, a person get out and walk toward the machine, then return to the truck and leave. Police have not yet released that video publicly or said how long the suspect may have watched the area before the robbery. They also have not said whether investigators believe he acted alone, although no other suspects had been announced by Tuesday.
The setting underscored how quickly a routine armored service stop can turn dangerous. The shooting happened at a drive-thru ATM in a commercial area of Conroe near Hillcrest and Frazier, a corridor lined with businesses and morning traffic. Armored carriers typically work on fixed service schedules and often handle cash in exposed spaces while loading or removing money from ATMs. In this case, investigators said the suspect was able to flee the scene before first officers arrived, creating a second public safety risk on one of the region’s main north-south highways. Buckholtz called the shooting a terrible tragedy for the victim and his family and said the guard had left home expecting a normal workday. “He was gunned down in a callous moment of greed,” the chief said as he urged prayers for the man’s recovery. Police have not said whether the suspect specifically targeted Truong, the ATM location, or the route itself.
By late Monday, the investigation had broadened beyond the initial crime scene. Detectives were processing the ATM area, the suspect’s pickup and the stolen currency containers, while also collecting witness statements and nearby business surveillance. The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office was assisting with legal review, and the FBI was helping because armored-car and bank-related robberies can involve federal jurisdiction, especially when interstate commerce, bank property or organized robbery patterns are at issue. Even with the suspect dead, several questions remained open Tuesday: whether the gunman had prior ties to the region, how he obtained information about the ATM stop, what weapon he used, and whether any planning materials were found in the truck. Police also had not released a formal timeline for when they expect to complete a full investigative summary or whether any additional evidence will be presented publicly before the case file is closed.
For people who saw the response unfold, the violence cut through an otherwise ordinary Monday morning. Drivers on Interstate 45 encountered a heavy law enforcement presence as officers boxed in the pickup and shut down part of the roadway. At the ATM site, yellow tape, police vehicles and emergency crews turned a bank parking area into an active crime scene before many nearby businesses had fully opened for the day. Bunn’s short exchange with the guard took on added weight after she learned he had been shot minutes later. Her account, repeated across local broadcasts, captured the random and sudden nature of the attack. At the same time, investigators have tried to keep the focus on verified facts: one guard wounded, one suspect dead, money recovered and no evidence yet of a wider threat to the public. That measured approach is likely to continue as detectives compare surveillance, tracking data and forensic evidence from both locations.
The case stood Tuesday at a familiar but still unsettled point in many fast-moving investigations: the immediate danger had ended, but the central questions about motive and planning were still unanswered. Police said Truong remained hospitalized in critical condition after surgery, and investigators were expected to continue evidence review and interviews in the coming days. The next major milestone is likely to be the public release of the suspect’s identity and any fuller account from detectives or prosecutors once the investigative record is complete.
Author note: Last updated March 24, 2026.