Katie
05-14-2007, 08:14 PM
BESSEMER, Alabama (AP) -- A gunman killed two bank tellers and wounded two others during a robbery Monday morning, before being shot by deputies as he tried to walk out with a hostage, authorities said.
Bessemer Police Chief Nathaniel Rutledge said the gunman entered the Wachovia bank branch shortly after it opened at 9 a.m. and fired on the tellers after demanding money. Investigators believe only a single gunman was involved but are checking whether a second suspect was outside the bank, Rutledge said.
He declined to elaborate on what happened inside but said video from surveillance cameras is being reviewed.
Police identified the two dead tellers as Sheila Prevo McWaine and Eva Hudson. Their age and hometown were not given.
The wounded bank employees were taken to a hospital. Police at a news conference said that Anita Gordon was in critical condition and LaToya Freeman was treated and released.
The suspect, whose name was not released, was also taken to a hospital.
Eight employees were inside the bank at the time of the shooting, said Wachovia spokeswoman Evelyn Mitchell, who also said she was unsure whether any customers were present.
FBI spokesman Paul Daymond said a deputy was driving by the bank when he saw a man coming out with a hostage. Deputies said the man was holding a gun to the head of a woman when he tripped, was shot and captured.
Rutledge said a passer-by also tried to intervene when the gunman left the bank, but he did not elaborate.
There was no word on whether any money was taken.
Matt Watkins, who was in a nearby pharmacy, said he heard three shots -- "pop, then pop-pop" -- and looked toward the bank parking lot, where he saw a man, apparently the wounded suspect, "flopping around." He said he also saw a big man running toward woods.
"There were never any security guards," said Watkins, who said he is a customer at the bank.
Daymond had no physical description of the second suspect, but surveillance video cameras are visible outside the bank.
Yellow crime scene tape was stretched around the one-story bank on a highway at the edge of downtown Bessemer, a city of 30,000 about 15 miles southwest of Birmingham.
Bank officials were working with police and the FBI, Mitchell said.
"It's a terrible day for Wachovia," Mitchell told The Birmingham News. "Our hearts are with our employees and their families right now."
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I've been in two bank robberies as a bank employee..............this kind of stuff is why I don't work in the branch anymore :cry:
Bessemer Police Chief Nathaniel Rutledge said the gunman entered the Wachovia bank branch shortly after it opened at 9 a.m. and fired on the tellers after demanding money. Investigators believe only a single gunman was involved but are checking whether a second suspect was outside the bank, Rutledge said.
He declined to elaborate on what happened inside but said video from surveillance cameras is being reviewed.
Police identified the two dead tellers as Sheila Prevo McWaine and Eva Hudson. Their age and hometown were not given.
The wounded bank employees were taken to a hospital. Police at a news conference said that Anita Gordon was in critical condition and LaToya Freeman was treated and released.
The suspect, whose name was not released, was also taken to a hospital.
Eight employees were inside the bank at the time of the shooting, said Wachovia spokeswoman Evelyn Mitchell, who also said she was unsure whether any customers were present.
FBI spokesman Paul Daymond said a deputy was driving by the bank when he saw a man coming out with a hostage. Deputies said the man was holding a gun to the head of a woman when he tripped, was shot and captured.
Rutledge said a passer-by also tried to intervene when the gunman left the bank, but he did not elaborate.
There was no word on whether any money was taken.
Matt Watkins, who was in a nearby pharmacy, said he heard three shots -- "pop, then pop-pop" -- and looked toward the bank parking lot, where he saw a man, apparently the wounded suspect, "flopping around." He said he also saw a big man running toward woods.
"There were never any security guards," said Watkins, who said he is a customer at the bank.
Daymond had no physical description of the second suspect, but surveillance video cameras are visible outside the bank.
Yellow crime scene tape was stretched around the one-story bank on a highway at the edge of downtown Bessemer, a city of 30,000 about 15 miles southwest of Birmingham.
Bank officials were working with police and the FBI, Mitchell said.
"It's a terrible day for Wachovia," Mitchell told The Birmingham News. "Our hearts are with our employees and their families right now."
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I've been in two bank robberies as a bank employee..............this kind of stuff is why I don't work in the branch anymore :cry: