July 6, 2010

Sources: Police Shoot Bank Robbery Suspect After Pursuit

DAMASCUS, Md. - A Montgomery County (web | news) police officer shot and critically wounded a bank robbery suspect following a pursuit in the Damascus area, police sources tell ABC 7 News. It all began with the robbery of a PNC Bank in the 13000 block of Middlebrook Road in Germantown about 9:30 a.m. About an hour later, a PNC Bank in the 26000 block of Ridge Road in Damascus, Maryland, was held up. That robbery produced a lookout for a red Toyota sedan.

At some point, officers spotted a vehicle matching the description and began to pursue it. The Toyota driver turned down a residential street, Bowman Acres Lane, in Damascus, and drove into a cornfield. A witness, neighborhood resident Chris Betts, says he spotted the Toyota "tearing" through the cornfield at about 60 mph. Believing the suspect was trapped, police began to form a perimeter around the field, officials said. That's when the suspect allegedly drove at an officer, who -- in fear for his life -- opened fire. The driver was wounded and crashed into a row of trees. The suspect was flown by Maryland State Police helicopter to Maryland Shock Trauma in Baltimore, where he was said to be in extremely critical condition. Sources said police did not recover a weapon from the vehicle. The investigation remains ongoing. SOURCE: WJLA

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