Gun-Toting Bandit Robs Chase Bank

A man wearing a scarf and sunglasses to conceal his face and wielding a black handgun robbed the Chase bank branch at 10545 S. Cicero Ave. on Friday morning.

Division Chief Michael Kaufmann said the bandit walked into the bank shortly after 10 a.m. and displayed a gun before escaping with an undisclosed amount of money. The robber was last seen running through the McDonald’s parking lot across the street from the bank. Police called in canines to search the area but the dogs lost the scent on the street off of 106th Street and Kilpatrick.

“More than likely he got into a car,” Kaufmann said.

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Kaufmann said there was at least a 5-minute delay before the robbery was reported to police. Bank employees first called Chase corporate security before calling police, per Chase’s corporate policy.

“It’s not the norm,” Kaufmann said of Chase’s corporate policy.

A call to Chase was not immediately returned.

The robbery occurred after the motorcade for fallen Marine Cpl. Conner Lowry passed through Oak Lawn earlier Friday morning.

Schools in the area were notified by the village’s emergency notification system, although there was no immediate danger to the community.

“It was a matter of concern to keep them informed,” Kaufmann said. “There were no schools [near the bank]. We always like to inform the schools when this happens.”

Kaufmann said the bandit displayed a weapon but it was not used during the robbery. The investigation has been turned over to the Chicago FBI.

The bandit is described as a white male, between five feet nine inches and six feet tall. In addition to wearing a black scarf over his face and sunglasses, he wore a black hoody underneath a black leather jacket.

The FBI-run website BanditTrackerChicago described this morning’s bank heist as a “takeover robbery.

On Dec. 8, That man, dubbed is suspected in two Chicago-area bank robberies. He remains at large.