Maryland Bank Robbery Leads to Chase, Shooting

BURTONSVILLE, Md. - Police officers from three jurisdictions opened fire on a bank robbery suspect during a running gun battle Thursday, fatally wounding the man, Montgomery County police said. Two bank robbery suspects were still being sought.

The shooting happened in Burtonsville, where three bank robbery suspects bailed out after a chase that stretched across Howard, Anne Arundel, Prince George's and Montgomery counties.

Officers from Montgomery, Howard and Prince George's counties opened fire on the suspect, Montgomery County police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said. Which officer fired the fatal shot will have to be deterimed through ballastics testing following an autopsy.

Hovering overhead, NewsChopper 7 captured pictures of first responders performing CPR on the suspect and loading him into an ambulance. Investigators confirmed just before noon he had died.

Police have set up a perimeter in Burtonsville and are searching for two other bank robbery suspects.

Heavily armed officers stopped every vehicle along Greencastle Road in Burtonsville, opening doors and searching the vehicles -- sometimes with weapons drawn -- as they looked for the two remaining suspects.

Officers from at least eight jurisdictions were involved in the search.

Canine officers, escorted by tactical officers armed with assault rifles, searched apartment complexes and wooded areas, looking for the suspects.

The chase began after a bank robbery in Clarksville, Howard County, Md. Three gunmen robbed the Bank of America branch located in the 6300 block of Ten Oaks Road about 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, an eyewitness told ABC 7/NewsChannel 8.

In the course of the robbery, police say that a bank employee was wounded in the hand. She was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive.

A witness to the robbery followed the suspects' vehicle -- a black pickup truck -- and called 911, Howard County police said. Officers located the vehicle and gave chase, passing through "multiple jurisdictions", whose officers also joined the pursuit.

The cordon caused six Montgomery Schools in the area to be placed on Code Blue, meaning students were kept inside.

Students' dismissals were also impacted.

Republished with permission from WJLA-TV