SEATTLE - Police shut down a major street in Seattle after a bank robbery turns into a shooting. It all happened just before noon on Monday. A suspect is still on the lose as what one witness described as a failure of bank robbery 101.
The suspect went into the Bank of America building behind me and demanded cash. He didn't notice there was a fully uniformed Seattle Police captain, just feet away.
Squad cars and police SUV's block off Fifth Ave between Cherry and Columbia as a standoff played out in public view, and ended with this cab window being shot out.
Tara Ortiz saw it from a 13th floor window.
"Our building sent us a note to stay away from windows because something is happening," she said.
The bank teller signaled a police captain in the branch at the time of the robbery who was just feet away in the bank on personal business.
The Captain confronted the robber who ran out of the bank and into a cab. There was a woman inside that cab. As soon as the suspect jumped in the cabbie jumped out.
Gary Kaufman watched from the sidewalk.
“Someone tried to start up the cab and take it away, and the police officer had his gun drawn," he said.
But the robber couldn't manage to drive the cab. He jumped out and ran away.
“The guy they were chasing out the building got out the cab and went that way. I don't know what happened to him," said Kaufman.
Neither do police. That suspect escaped. But the captain stayed with his gun trained on the woman inside the cab - as the SWAT team and hostage negotiators arrived.
“We had all the police out here with their guns drawn trained on the back of the cab," said Kaufman.
She wouldn't respond to police commands until the SWAT team fired a plastic bullet at the back window.
Sean Whitcomb with Seattle Police says, “(They) fired a projectile and smashed out the back window, and at the time we got a quick surrender from her."
The woman is being questioned.
The man is described as black, 35-40 years old, between 6-foot-2 to 6-foot-4, and around 250 pounds. He was wearing all black, and carrying a dirty pink backpack.
No one was hurt, and no money was stolen.
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