Three men attacked a bank van at around 5:20 p.m. Tuesday in Tokyo's Taito Ward, shooting and wounding a security guard, police said.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the three men appeared to be foreigners. They grabbed four sacks of documents that were in the vehicle and made their getaway in a black car, police said.
The incident occurred as two guards began unloading the sacks, which contained documents from a company affiliated with Tokai Bank. Police said that because the same type of van is used by the bank to transport money, they suspect the men launched their attack thinking there was cash inside the vehicle.
Investigators said a bullet fired from a pistol hit 55-year-old Koichiro Yanagimoto, one of the two guards at the scene, in the arm. He was receiving medical treatment at a nearby hospital, but the injury is not life-threatening, they said.
A car resembling the getaway car was located about 300 meters from the scene.