Deputies Wound Suspect in Robbery : Crime: Man is found crouched in an abandoned building and holding what is believed to be a gun. Pliers and cash drawer are discovered after he is shot.

LANCASTER — A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy shot and wounded a robbery suspect after discovering the man crouched in a dark, abandoned building and pointing what the deputy believed to be a gun, authorities said Sunday.

Leonard Garcia, 32, was in critical but stable condition Sunday at Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center with a bullet wound to the upper chest, Deputy Jim Hellmold said.

Investigators found no gun but a large pair of pliers near where Garcia fell, Hellmold said.

They also found cash and the drawer from a cash register, he said.

The incident began about 2:20 p.m. Saturday with a robbery at the Weber’s Bread store in the 300 block of East Avenue I, Hellmold said. About 40 minutes later, he said, deputies asked two men in a nearby alley about the robbery. The men said they knew nothing about it but said they had seen a man with a large box enter an abandoned apartment building nearby.

Two deputies searched a dark apartment in the 300 block of East Avenue H-13 and discovered a man hiding behind the wall of a small alcove in an upstairs bedroom.

“When they illuminated him with a flashlight, they saw him in a crouched position with his hands together in front of his body, and he was pointing an object at them,” Hellmold said.

Deputy Mike Holland, believing that the object was a gun, fired a single shot, hitting Garcia in the chest, Hellmold said.

In addition to the pliers, Hellmold said, investigators found a large box containing the cash drawer from a Weber’s Bread register and cash lying on the floor. The amount of money was not disclosed.

An internal investigation of the shooting has been launched, standard in all officer-involved shootings, Hellmold said.