The FBI’s investigation of a robbery at the U.S. Bank in the Busch Student Center remains open.
According to official reports, an unknown man had entered the bank at around 11:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 13 and presented a note demanding money; the incident resulted in no injuries, and the suspect left the scene with an undisclosed sum.
“Obviously, we don’t expect these kind of things to happen on campus, but we’re a bank and [are] subject to the same temptations as other banks,” said Dan Schneider, manager of the BSC’s U.S. Bank.
The FBI described the suspect as a 28- to 35-year-old black male about 5 foot 6 inches tall and between 130 and 140 pounds. He was wearing a black baseball cap, dark pants and a black and red jogging jacket with white stripes at the time of the robbery. A Department of Public Safety crime alert reported that the suspect also had two adhesive bandages under his right eye. Larry Purvis, interim director of public safety, said that the suspect may have used the bandages to distract from his facial features.
According to the DPS crime alert, the suspect did not appear to have a weapon, nor did he say that he had one. Representatives of U.S. Bank declined to comment on the company’s official procedure in cases of robbery.
The FBI, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and representatives of U.S. Bank were also unwilling to reveal how much money was stolen. According to Schron Jackson, a public relations manager for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, such information “is part of the investigation and is never disclosed when a bank is robbed.”
STL-PD and DPS officers arrived quickly on the scene, swarming the area around bank. The suspect, however, had already fled.
“It’s a strange and isolated incident,” BSC Building Manager Chris Grabau said. “I think [the BSC] is a very safe environment. I feel quite encouraged that DPS was so quick to respond, and the city police were quick. Everyone sprung into action and took care of it.”
As the federal government insures money held in banks, the FBI heads all bank-robbery investigations. The suspect will face federal prosecution if he is captured. The STL-PD and DPS are assisting the FBI.
The suspect fled on foot after leaving the BSC, shedding some articles of clothing as he went. A worker saw a man matching the subject’s description crossing the Chaifetz Arena construction site. Director of Public Safety and Emergency Management Sam Simon said that the suspect scaled two fences while making his escape.
According to the DPS crime alert, a woman driving a “two-door, light brown, 1980s model Chevrolet or Oldsmobile” picked up the suspect near the intersection of Compton Avenue and Market Street.
The suspect and his accomplice were last seen driving south on Compton.
In response to the incident, U.S. Bank has stationed a security guard at the branch to monitor the premises during business hours. The bank was closed the remaineder of Tuesday after the robbery, but reopened the next day.
According to Purvis, SLU’s U.S. Bank was robbed once before, more than six years ago. The robbery preceded the renovations of the BSC and, at the time, the bank was located in the building’s front lobby. The suspect in that case escaped to Grand Boulevard before being apprehended by DPS officers.
The FBI requests that anyone with further information contact their St. Louis regional field division at 231-4324.
