Bank Robbery Suspect Fatally Shot by Ill. Police

Dec. 17, 2013
Evanston police officers shot and killed a man suspected in the robbery of a bank on Monday

Evanston police shot and killed a man suspected in the robbery of an Evanston bank Monday, police said.

The shooting took place about 3 p.m. on Maple Avenue just south of Davis Street in the city's downtown area, police said in a news release.

Police responded to a reported robbery at a Chase bank branch at 901 Grove St., near the city's police headquarters. After receiving a description of the suspect from a bank teller, police found the man walking away from the bank, west on Grove Street, police said.

The man was seen holding a gun, and when he did not comply with the officers' request to drop it, they fired multiple times at him, according to police.

The suspect was taken to Evanston Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. Investigators recovered a 9 mm handgun and money believed to have been taken during the robbery, authorities said.

Evanston police Cmdr. Jay Parrott declined to provide the suspect's name but said investigators were verifying his identity with fingerprints.

Parrott said the Illinois State Police public integrity unit and the city's Office of Professional Standards are investigating the shooting.

Evanston police said camera footage from inside a squad car supported witnesses' and officers' reports of the events.

Angelina Mueller, a supervisor at Bennison's Bakery at Maple Avenue and Davis Street, said she and another employee were helping a group of perhaps 10 customers Monday afternoon when they heard several police officers yelling.

Looking out the bakery window, she said she saw multiple police officers with guns pointed toward the wall of the bakery, which faces Maple.

"We heard a bunch of yelling, but we couldn't hear what they were saying," she said when reached by phone. "All of a sudden, we heard gunshots."

Mueller said she saw 14 bullet casings on the ground, though Parrott could not say how many shots were fired.

"We all dropped to the floor," Mueller said. "Everyone was kind of shocked."

Police closed off Maple from Grove to Davis streets to investigate.

The same branch previously was robbed in the past few months, according to FBI spokeswoman Joan Hyde. She did not have additional information about Monday's incident.

The same man is suspected in the robbery of a TCF Bank branch at 4355 N. Sheridan Road in Chicago on Dec. 12, according to law enforcement agencies' BanditTracker Chicago website. He was described as a white male, 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-10, carrying a satchel and wearing dark clothing with a scarf over his face.

The Chase branch on Grove previously was robbed at about 3:30 p.m. Sept. 6, according to the FBI. Authorities described the suspect in that robbery as being a Hispanic man, 5-foot-8 and having a medium to stocky build. He wore a black baseball hat, sunglasses, a blue jacket and black pants with a white stripe, and he carried a black backpack, the FBI said.

Authorities are not sure whether the same person is responsible for both incidents, Hyde said.

Copyright 2013 - Chicago Tribune

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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