PHOENIX (CBS5) -
A man was shot and the gunman escaped with money he grabbed from the floor of the victim's van Tuesday afternoon, Phoenix police said.
Officers found the 23-year-old victim, who suffered a gunshot wound to his arm, on the northeast corner of Southern and Central at about 4:15 p.m.
According to police, the victim and his 22-year-old girlfriend, who were both from out of state, had informed friends they were visiting that they had been having tire problems.
The friends introduced the victims to the suspect, who allegedly told them where they could get an inexpensive tire, said Officer James Holmes of the Phoenix Police Department.
The couple drove the suspect to the tire store he had recommended, Holmes said. The suspect, who had been sitting in the rear of the van, grabbed a bag full of money from the floor of the van and fled on foot through the parking lot, Holmes said.
The victim gave chase and at some point, the suspect produced a gun and shot the victim in the arm, Holmes said.
The girlfriend, who was driving the van, followed the men and, when she observed the suspect get into the passenger side of an SUV, she struck the SUV, Holmes said. The SUV kept traveling through the parking lot, hit another car and then fled north on Central Avenue.
The SUV had extensive front-end damage, Holmes said.
The suspect is described as black. He is about 5'9" tall and bald. He was last seen wearing a tan shirt and camouflaged shorts.
The victim later told officers while at the hospital that he did not desire prosecution.
It wasn't clear exactly how much money was stolen.
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