Brinks Guard Slain, Driver Wounded : Crime: Two robbers escape with a bag of cash after the noontime ambush at a bank in Northridge.

A Brink’s truck guard was shot to death and his driver was seriously wounded Wednesday in a noontime ambush at a Northridge bank by two robbers armed with high-powered rifles that pierced the armored truck’s bullet-resistant glass.

The attack occurred about 12:30 p.m. as the guard was returning to the truck parked behind the Bank of America branch on Roscoe Boulevard near Winnetka Avenue.

A robber, firing from behind a wall in the parking lot of an adjacent gas station, ordered passersby to turn away, shouting: “Get down and don’t look.”

The guard was hit several times, witnesses said. A gunman then ran up to the truck and fired at the driver through the window, police said.

The driver returned fire but the robbers were able to grab a bag of money and flee in a car, police said. The amount of money taken was not immediately determined.

The guard and driver were rushed to hospitals. Herman Cook, 52, of Sunland, a five-year Brink’s employee, died a few hours later at Northridge Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The 53-year-old driver, whose name was not released--was in serious condition at another hospital Wednesday night with wounds to the neck, face and chest.

“He’s alert and in good spirits,” a hospital spokesman said.

Witnesses’ descriptions of the robbers varied widely. Some said one robber was wearing a dark jacket with “Security” written across the back.

One of the witnesses said a gas station patron yelled for the Brink’s guards not to fire on the gunman, saying, “He’s security! He’s security!” Then another witness shouted, “Then why is he [the gunman] firing back?!”