A Texas Chase customer carrying a firearm shot a robbery suspect who allegedly walked into the bank with a knife, threatened employees and demanded money before dying after the confrontation.
The attempted holdup unfolded Monday morning at the Chase branch on North U.S. Highway 67 Service Road in Cedar Hill, where police were called around 9 a.m. over a robbery in progress.
Inside the bank, investigators said the man used the knife to threaten employees and demand cash. The armed customer stepped in and fired.
The wounded suspect made it out to the parking lot before officers arrived. Police tried lifesaving measures, and the man was transported to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Witness Damien Cannon told Fox4News that the gunshots came from the area directly in front of the bank.
“They rung out. Literally right in front of the bank,” Cannon said.
Cedar Hill Police made clear that no officer fired during the incident.
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“No shots were fired by police officers,” the department said. “No significant injuries to bank employees, customers, witnesses, or officers have been reported at this time.”
NBCDFW.com reported that the customer with the gun remained at the branch and cooperated with authorities.
The Criminal Investigations Unit was working through witness interviews and bank security video as Cedar Hill Police and the FBI continued reviewing the case.
Police had not said whether the customer would be charged.
A Maryland robbery case brought a much stranger bank scene, with police accusing a 19-year-old of stealing a kitten from a pet store and carrying her into a PNC Bank before a teller received a cash-demand note.
The kitten, a 3-month-old black-and-white tuxedo cat named Magnolia, was taken from Pet Supplies Plus on Baltimore Avenue before Prince George’s County police arrested Jacob Loethen.
NBC Washington obtained security video from the pet store showing a man in a light-colored T-shirt and black beanie entering the business, then rushing back out seconds later with Magnolia.
People who saw him in the shopping center told the outlet he went straight from the pet store to the nearby bank.
Beltsville Community Cats rescue worker Stephanie Stullich said store employees called around 10:30 a.m. after Magnolia disappeared from the adoption area.
“I immediately saw all of these police cars, and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a heck of a response for a stolen cat,’” Stullich told NBC Washington. “But then I realized they all were going down to the bank.”
Police later gave Stullich the bizarre next step, she said. The suspect allegedly entered the bank holding Magnolia, asked an employee, “Can you hold this?” and then handed a teller the robbery note.
Prince George’s County police said the arrest happened at the bank.
Prince George’s County Circuit Court records listed Loethen on charges of robbery, second degree assault and attempted theft.
Pet Supplies Plus manager Aaron Kurkowski told NBC Washington the suspect had been visiting the store almost daily for a couple of weeks and usually made a beeline for Magnolia.
“He just went right to her and ran right on out,” Kurkowski said.
Magnolia came through the ordeal safely and apparently found comfort with the bank manager before her rescue was complete.
Beltsville Community Cats announced on Facebook that the kitten had been recovered and that the attempted robbery had failed.
“The robbery was unsuccessful, the suspect was arrested, and Magnolia was found safe and sound,” the organization wrote.
The rescue later turned Magnolia’s brief brush with crime into a joke.
Kaylei Roldan, 28, had applied to adopt Magnolia a week before the bank incident and thought the kitten would pair well with her tuxedo cat, Kuro.
The Washington Post reported that Roldan imagined Magnolia speaking for herself after the ordeal.
“She has fully retired from planning any bank heists. She just wants to be curled up with Kuro, and just stay at home and eat treats,” Roldan said.
A separate cat rescue in Washington state began with a call about an abandoned boat and ended with 60 cats and kittens coming off a 40-foot sailboat near Owen Beach.
Tacoma Police Department’s Marine Services Unit went to the water off the beach on Aug. 6 after reports of the abandoned vessel.
The first sweep turned up more than 30 cats and kittens living aboard in unsafe conditions. Police said many of the animals appeared frightened and malnourished.
Marine Services brought Animal Control and the department’s Forensics Unit into the effort to remove the animals safely.
The rescue kept expanding over the next six days.
By the time the last animal was taken from the sailboat, police said the count had doubled from the first estimate.
“That’s a wrap! The final cat is off the boat. Fur real this time!” police wrote. “Final cat count: 60!”
Tacoma police said Animal Control was as certain as possible that no cats remained aboard.
“That’s all for meow!” the department joked online.
KING 5 reported that more than 40 of the animals were taken to the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County, while the remaining cats and kittens went to foster homes in the area.
