An unarmed security guard was fatally shot and injured during a planned heist at a hotel near the University of Maryland campus early on Tuesday.

According the University of Maryland Police Chief David B. Mitchell, they have suspected one in the attempted robbery, in which two men made off with three safes that they eventually abandoned as they fled the scene.. As of Tuesday afternoon, police had still been trying to identify a second suspect in the crime.

Police informed that, the incident began at 1:12 AM at the College Park Marriott Hotel and Conference Center. Two armed men arrived at the hotel’s loading dock in the back of the building with the intention of robbing the facility. Mitchell said that two security officers were in the area, and one of them was shot in the arm during the confrontation.

The men apparently entered through the back of the hotel then and stole three safes. University police arrived immediately, and the men tossed the safes and a handgun before fleeing to a nearby wooded area. The chief declined to disclose where the safes were inside the hotel but said it was clear that the robbery was “targeted.”

With the help of the Prince George’s County K-9 unit, Mitchell said, police were able to capture one suspect, whose name was not released.

Mitchell said that the security guard who was injured had been working there for a many years in the hotel, and he described him as a “tremendous fellow” and “great guy.”

Mitchell said, “We pray for his recovery” . Sgt. Rosanne Hoaas, a university police spokeswoman said that the security officer was an employee of the hotel run by Marriott, and the officers typically were not armed.

Hotel officials refused to comment on the incident.

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By Prakriti Neogi