Suspect Shot In Homewood Bank Robbery
UPDATED 11/2/10 4:56 p.m.
HOMEWOOD, Ill. (CBS) - Police shot and wounded one suspect following a bank robbery in south suburban Homewood.
The U.S. Bank branch at 18300 S. Kedzie Ave. was robbed just before 11:30 a.m., according to the FBI. The armed offenders, a male-female duo wearing stocking masks, took over the bank.
A passerby called 911 upon noticing the theft in progress. Local police came and exchanged gunfire with the bank robbers, the FBI said.
One robber, a 23-year-old woman, was shot in the shoulder by police. She and a second robber, a male, were arrested.
The woman, whose name wasn't immediately released, was taken to South Suburban Hospital, where she was in good condition, Homewood police Chief Larry Burnson said.
Burnson said the other suspect, who was arrested at the scene, is a 36-year-old man and that he and the woman are both from Robbins. Neither was immediately identified, but both have lengthy criminal records, including weapons convictions, according to the chief.
At least one more robber who served as the getaway driver remains on the loose, the FBI said.
No bank customers or employees were hurt in the incident, according to the FBI.
Michael Airhart, 41, was driving past on Kedzie when he saw "two men come running out with Uzis, like in a movie." They ran toward a car at the rear of the bank "and it sounded like they were being shot at," he said.
"The police were here within seconds — they did a great job," he said.
A blue backpack stuffed with cash and a gun were still lying where the robber dropped them Tuesday afternoon, labeled with police evidence markers, the witness said.
With his 5-year-old son in tow, Airhart says he grabbed his camera and photographed the weapons.
"The automatic weapons that's on the ground in the pictures is unbelievable, that's something the army has," he said.
Clothes — apparently also shed by a robber — were 100 feet away at the end of a strip mall where the man was shot, Airhart said.
Authorities say the lookout and getaway car driver is still on the loose. The female suspect who was shot by police remains in the hospital.
CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez and the Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
