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Mar 28, 2008 7:58 pm US/Central
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Officers Shoot Bank Robbery Suspect In Plymouth
PLYMOUTH, Minn. (WCCO) ―
A bank robbery, police chase, and shooting involved officers from at least six departments Friday morning. It all started around 7:00 in Saint Anthony.
A masked man with a gun confronted three people as they arrived to work at a TCF Bank on Silver Lake Road. The gunman forced them to let him inside the bank and give him cash. He then sped away on a 20-mile chase that started in St. Anthony and ended in Plymouth.
"This was probably the most eventful day I've ever had coming into work," said Greg Brust.
Brust was heading south on Interstate 494 when he saw police cars in his rear-view mirror. He knew he needed to get out of the way.
"As I went to the right shoulder, this car just came whipping past me further right on the shoulder and just almost clipped the entire side of my car," said Brust.
The man in that car had just robbed a bank. Brust saw him throw two bags out the window that may have contained stolen money.
"When I came to the stop I stopped almost right where those bags were, a New Brighton police officer was backing up real fast to me, and then at that point he got out and, you know walked back and picked the bags up in front of my car," said Brust.
At times hitting speeds up to 100 mph, the thief led police on a chase through Plymouth and eventually onto Highway 55. When he tried to drive the wrong way on an exit ramp police used a pit maneuver to force him off the road.
"All of the sudden all of their guns were drawn. Boom, they shot him," said witness Jenny Kavlik.
Three Plymouth police officers shot the man after he got out of his vehicle.
"I have no idea, anywhere from 10 to 20 gun shots. But I mean, he must have had a gun on him, that's what I'm assuming because there is no reason they would have shot at him like that," added Kavlik.
Police won't say if the man pulled a gun on them. The three officers involved in the shooting have been put on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure in a shooting while an investigation is taking place.
The FBI said they are still trying to figure out if they have recovered all the money the man stole from the TCF Bank. They are investigating whether the bank robber was involved in two previous bank robberies at the same bank in November and January. They believe he may also be connected to a bank robbery that occurred on March 13th at a TCF in St. Louis Park.
The suspect shot was taken to North Memorial Medical Center, where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
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