By Ben Smith, Staff Writer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A Lilburn police officer responding to an attempted bank robbery Tuesday night shot and killed one of the two suspects. The second suspect was still at large late Tuesday and is considered armed and extremely dangerous.
The incident took place at about 7:40 at a bank that serves the Latino community at 4271 U.S. 29.
The second suspect was described as dressed all in black and wearing a face mask. It is not known how much, if any, money was taken.
According to Lilburn Police Sgt. Tyler Thomas, police responded to a silent robbery call from Banco Nuestra Communidad at 7:37 p.m. Arriving on the scene, Lilburn police positioned themselves outside the bank while the robbery was taking place.
The suspects emerged from the bank and refused commands to surrender. Shots were fired, and an officer, whose name was not released pending an investigation, struck one of the suspects. He fell near an adjacent pawn shop and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators from the Gwinnett County Police Department, the FBI, the Lawrenceville Police Department, the Gwinnett Sheriff’s Department and the district attorney’s office were at the scene while the search for the second suspect was under way.
Officers combed the wooded areas behind the bank where the other suspect fled.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Gwinnett County Police Department at 770-513-5300.
Copyright 2006 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution