Robbers get away after hitting Palatine, Rolling Meadows banks
A man who robbed a Rolling Meadows bank Monday morning is believed to be the same person who robbed the same bank in April and two others in Wood Dale earlier this year, authorities say.
But he is not believed to be the robber who hit a Palatine bank Monday afternoon.
The Charter One on Kirchoff and East Frontage roads in Rolling Meadows was robbed just before 10 a.m. today, according to a flier on an FBI website that links the crime with an April holdup at the same bank, as well as robberies at two Wood Dale banks in February and November.
A second robbery occurred later Monday at the Chase Bank at Euclid Avenue and Quentin Road in Palatine.
Palatine police Chief John Koziol said police continue to search for two suspects in that robbery.
Just after 3 p.m., a witness flagged down an Inverness police officer and told the officer about the robbery in progress. When police arrived at the bank, they witnessed a suspect running southwest from the building into a nearby neighborhood.
Police officers from various agencies established a perimeter and used dog units and a helicopter to search — without finding the two suspects, police said.
The robbery took place just as nearby schools dismissed students for the day. School officials were notified to keep their students safe.
“We notified both districts 15 and 211 if they had any children being bused into the area, so they could keep the kids back,” Deputy Chief Alan Stoeckel said. Parents at Hunting Ridge School came and got them, Stoeckel said.
Both men were wearing black hoodies and black ski masks, police said. Anyone with information should call Palatine police at (847) 359-9000.
The robberies related to the Rolling Meadows suspect include one Wood Dale robbery at the branch of the BMO Harris Bank at 130 E. Devon Ave. on Feb. 15, and another at the Charter One branch at 333 E. Irving Park Road on Nov. 15.
The robber in that case is described to be a man between 50 and 60 years old, standing 5 feet, 8 inches to 6 feet tall and weighing about 165 pounds, with gray facial hair.
The man showed a silver semiautomatic handgun in the February robbery, but he did not display or imply a weapon Monday, Rolling Meadows police Sgt. Tom Gadomski said. The man left the bank on foot, police said.
Rolling Meadows police and the FBI are investigating the robbery and offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information. Information and photos are available at bandittrackerchicago.com