Updated 4/25: Schools locked down after bank robbery
April 25, 2008
By Jeff Danna
Several Elmhurst schools were locked down this morning after an armed robbery was reported at 10:30 a.m. at the Butterfield Road branch of Suburban Bank and Trust.
"We immediately locked down Bryan, Madison and Jackson (schools), which are the closest in proximity," said Marta Davy, president of the Elmhurst Unit School District 205 board.
Davy said District 205 schools were locked for about an hour after they received word of the robbery around 10:30 a.m.
Timothy Christian schools also were on lock-down, said administrative assistant Char Iwema. She said the schools' doors were locked after staff received word of the robbery at around 11 a.m. People entering and leaving the building were monitored, but students were not locked in their classrooms.
According to a press release from Elmhurst Police Chief Steve Neubauer, police could not find the robber after he fled the bank on foot.
The robber had been driving a maroon Toyota that had been reported stolen earlier in the day, the press release said. The Toyota was left at the bank, and the subject reportedly ran to a black, older-model compact car.
The suspect was described as a black male, 25 to 30 years old and 5 feet, 8 inches tall. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, dark jeans and light-colored gym shoes. The driver of the getaway car was described as a black male.
Timothy Christian librarian Judd Rinsema said he was in the bank when the robbery occurred between 10:30 and 11 and was interviewed by police when they arrived at the scene.
"I was at the counter, and I had just given my clerk a container of coins," he said. "I was on a cell phone with my wife and I heard yelling."
Rinsema said he ended his call and hit the floor when he realized he was the only person left standing.
"He (the robber) said, 'Everybody down and no one will get hurt," Rinsema said.
Rinsema said he noticed a handgun in the man's left hand as the robber rifled through the tellers' drawers and proceeded to the drive-through teller's station.
Police said the robber took an undetermined amount of cash.
The man did not harm the 20 to 25 people in the bank, but the incident was shocking all the same, Rinsema said.
"It happened so fast," he said. "It took me half the time I was in there to realize what was happening."
Police are asking anyone with information to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigations at (312) 421-6700 or the Elmhurst Police Department at (630) 530-3079.
This is insane that an armed robbery of a bank took place in Elmhurst. It sometimes seems like we're in our own little 'bubble' of protection against crime like this, living in such a nice suburb. But it's a good wake-up call to realize that you should always be alert to what's happening around you at all times. It's weird thinking that this actually occurred in our town because this is the kind of thing that you normally see in movies and wouldn't expect here.
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2 comments:
That's really scary! And I think the worst part of it is that I probably wouldn't have known about this, or I wouldn't have found out until a few days later through word of mouth. I have to be better about reading the news. I wounder why they didn't close down Elmhurst College or York High school because we are all "in the area". But I completely agree with your bubble idea. It's more common to associate crime with the city and therefore it's not excused but somewhat expected. So every time something like this happens people have the reaction of "But Elmhurst is such a good town" or something along those lines. But in reality crime happens everyday in every town and city. Which is why we shouldn't be so lax in any area, and everywhere should have the same/ high standards of protection against crime.
I never would expect anything like this to happen in Elmhurst. Elmhurst is such a nice neighborhood you do not expect anything like this to happen here. It just shows you that anything can happen anywhere at anytime. I also had no idea about this until i read you blog.
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