An armed man robbed and then fled from the Florida A&M University Federal Credit Union Thursday morning.
According to bank officials, this is the bank’s first robbery in 25 years.
The man, who was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans, entered the bank lobby area at 9:19 a.m. Surveillance videos show that there were no customers and three employees on duty: two tellers and one other employee.
The robber then walked toward the nearest teller and placed a gun on the counter.
“He said ‘Give me the Money’,” said Gene Telfair, president and CEO of FAMU Federal Credit Union.
The video showed the man reaching over the counter into the teller’s drawer and grabbing a handful of money before he fled, leaving a trail of cash.
“We got a robbery alarm at 9:23 a.m. and we dispatched officers to the scene,” said Lt. Ken Bergstrom, the Tallahassee Police Department watch commander for patrol. “Most of our robbery alarms are false alarms, but the alarm company called us and told us that there was actually a robbery in progress.”
The suspect fled the scene on foot and was last scene in the parking lot of the Credit Union.
“We don’t offer a reward, but if someone with information calls CrimeStoppers, they do offer rewards,” Telfair said. Telfair said one brave customer deserves a commendation. According to Telfair, the customer spotted the suspicious character when he entered the bank as the customer was exiting. Apparently sensing danger, Telfair said the customer waited and then gave chase, before finally losing the man.
The credit union, which was founded in 1935 by FAMU employees, is assuring customers that there will not be any problems with their financial transactions.
“I have a state of the art (security) system that I can check from anywhere in the country,” Telfair said. “We train our people to cooperate (with robbers,) so it’s no big deal because your money is insured.”
The Tallahassee Police Department is also looking for leads.
“Our robbery task force will be conducting an investigation to apprehend the suspect,” Bergstrom said.
Contact Robbyn Mitchell at journey_editor@yahoo.com