Police Release South Strabane Bank Robber's Photo
SOUTH STRABANE (KDKA) - Police are asking for the public's help to identify a suspect in a bank robbery that resulted in one person being shot and killed on Sunday.
According to police, the incident happened around 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
The Washington County Coroner identified the victim as 46-year-old Vincent Kelley, who died of multiple gunshot wounds.
"He was a good guy. When he saw something wrong, he tried to fix it," Jared Cameron said.
Cameron said that's exactly what Kelley did after both men noticed an unusual individual walk into the Citizens Bank branch inside the Strabane Square Giant Eagle.
"We were in Giant Eagle and we were right in front of the bank and I saw the guy walk in. He had his umbrella open in the store and it caught my attention because it was suspicious," Cameron said.
Suspicions were confirmed when the man held up the branch. The robber ran out into the parking lot with Kelley on his tail.
"The guy pulled the gun on him, but he didn't even stop, didn't even hesitate. He just kept going straight at him," Cameron said. "The guy hopped in the car and Vinny hopped in the back seat and they were wrestling around a little bit. The guy reached over the seat with his gun and pulled the trigger six times."
The assailant took off in a white, compact four-door sedan, possibly a Honda or Hyundai. He remains on the run as investigators continue the investigation.
"I told him, 'Let it go. It's not our business. There's no need for this.' But, he just kept on going and he didn't stop. He wasn't scared of anything," Cameron said.
Washington City Councilman Joe Manning, who also has EMT training, was also at the Giant Eagle at the time of the robbery.
"At the time we started to head back towards the building and somebody said, 'That man's been shot back there,'" Manning said. "So I went back to render assistance. The employes from Giant Eagle were very good, they did a lot of work trying to save that man. And I put an A.E.D. on him, an automatic external defibrillator, to see of there were any vital signs, anything like that. And them people from Giant Eagle began doing CPR on him and at that time the ambulance showed up."
The Washington County District Attorney's Office, South Strabane Police and the FBI are all working on the case. They are currently looking at surveillance video from a nearby PNC Bank ATM.
At a briefing late Monday afternoon, South Strabane Twp police detective Mike Schidlmeier said the suspect's successful attempt to hide his face, and the fleeting view of a white car require the help of the public to solve the case.
"The vehicle was last seen headed towards state route 19 in an unknown direction," said Schidlmeier.
"If around 2:30 p.m. Sunday you were driving in the area of state route 19, I-70 or Interstate 70, and observed a white four-door vehicle driving erratic, if you recognize anything from the footage of the actor, you can reach the South Strabane Township Police Department at 724-225-8111."
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