Jun 20, 2008 5:30 pm US/Eastern
Police Capture L.I. Bank Robbery Suspects
Nassau Medical Center, Schools Locked Down During Manhunt
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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Officers converged on Nassau County Medical Center around noon where two men suspected in a hold-up were hiding out.
CBS
It was anything but a game.
A tense case of cops and robbers put a hospital and several schools on Long Island under lockdown Friday.
Officers converged on Nassau County Medical Center around noon where two men suspected in a hold-up were hiding out. The armed bank robbers were chased by police on foot through the center's garage, leaping down 30 feet, trying to escape and hiding under cars.
Ambulances were diverted and hospital appointments on hold, creating panic among nearby community school children and their parents.
"He could come out of anywhere and start shooting," one young student told CBS 2.
The frightening ordeal began when the Bank of America opened in North Bellmore. A robber with a gun demanded cash from frightened tellers. Grabbing a bundle of loot, he jumped into a waiting getaway car, but police were hot on their tail.
The thieves had tried to dump the evidence, actually tossing the cash out the window.
Police soon surrounded the robbers' car, a Nissan Altima, and closed in first on the bandit who'd had the gun. Later, the getaway driver wound up being caught in another building, trying to change his clothes so he could walk out unnoticed.
Police say that good Samaritans turned in the cash thrown out the window. It is being counted now to determine if all of the stolen money has all been recovered.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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