Crime & Safety
Bank Branch Robbed Second Time in a Year
Saturday's robbery of the Chase Bank in Oak Lawn may be connected to Alsip and Evergreen Park bank robberies.
Authorities believe that Saturday’s robbery of an Oak Lawn bank may be related to two other that occurred earlier this year in Alsip and Evergreen Park.
Around 10:24 a.m. Saturday, the Chase Bank branch at 10545 S. Cicero Ave. in Oak Lawn was robbed, according to the FBI-run website, BanditTrackerChicago.com. Law enforcement officials spent several hours inside the bank on Saturday following the morning robbery.
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The two men also are believed to be involved on Feb. 25. Witnesses stated that a total of four men were involved in the attempted robbery.
As two men waited in the customer line in the Alsip robbery, two more entered the bank the morning of Feb. 25. The four announced a robbery to the customers and bank employees, and one man jumped over the teller counter in an attempt to get to money, authorities said.
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No weapons were ever shown and there were no injuries.
A few moments later, thinking law enforcement had been called, the four fled on foot away from the bank empty-handed.
A second, attempted robbery was made on the Charter One Bank at 2917 West 95th St. in Evergreen Park, on March 12.
The suspects are described on BanditTrackerChicago as two male blacks, both approximately five-feet-eight-inches tall. One is bald and in his forties. His alleged accomplice is in his early thirties and has long hair.
The bank robberies are described as “takeover robberies,” where bank employees and customers are ordered to the floor or herded to the back of the bank or vault while it’s being robbed.
The FBI notes that a bank employee was roughed up in one of the heists. Weekend calls to the Chicago FBI and Oak Lawn Police Department were not immediately returned.
Saturday marks the second time in just over a year that the Chase branch has been robbed. The bank was robbed on March 12, 2012.
Anyone with information about Saturday’s robbery should contact the FBI at 312-421-6700. An unspecified reward is also being offered.
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