Chattanooga Bank Robbery: Bank Manager Shot, Police Searching For Suspect

A Chattanooga bank robbery left one employee wounded and a suspect still at large after witnesses say a person walked into a First Tennessee Bank branch and immediately began shooting.

The incident took place two hours after the East Brainerd branch had opened, happening so quickly that witnesses said they didn’t have time to process what was happening.

The Chattanooga bank robbery suspect was also hidden so well that police have few clues about the suspect’s appearance, or even their sex.

“He was completely covered, so we’re still working on suspect information. We don’t know if it’s a male or a female,” says a Chattanooga police officer.

A bank manager was hurt during the robbery, but it is unclear if the injured person was shot intentionally. Witnesses said the suspect fired into the air indiscriminately after entering the bank at close to 10 am.

Neighbors found a ski mask dumped about two miles from the bank, leading police to the neighborhood around Charlotte Avenue.

Police do have some other clues about the Chattanooga bank robbery as well. Witnesses were able to describe the getaway car and a possible accomplice.

“They drove off in an unknown direction of travel in a white KIA and it is believed that the driver is a white female,” a police spokesperson said.

Reports show that bank robberies are rare in Tennessee, with just 79 across the state in 2011.

It is even more rare for people to be hurt during bank robberies. For all of 2011, the most recent year with figures available, there were 5,014 bank robberies nationwide and a total of 88 people hurt. Just more than half of those people, 45 in total, were bank employees. There were also only 70 bank robberies where a gun was fired.

The bank manager shot during the Chattanooga bank robbery is in the hospital with injuries that are not considered life-threatening.