KLTV 7 News Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville |Armed robber strikes Grand Saline bank

Armed robber strikes Grand Saline bank

By Courtney Lane - bio | email

The FBI is now helping out in the hunt to find a suspect who robbed a Grand Saline bank at gunpoint. Police said the robber hit the "Mineola Community Bank" on Frank Street in Grand Saline just before 10:30 Monday morning.

Wearing a blue sweat suit and a camo mask, the robber flashed a gun and demanded cash. Surveillance video shows the clerk handing over money then the guy takes off on foot. But Iva Davenport, who lives a few doors down, said there was a getaway car.

"He came over the railroad tracks and parked across the street from me and that's when I noticed that somebody jumped over the wall and got in the car and they drove off together," said Davenport.

Grand Saline police said just 20 minutes before the bank was hit, a bomb threat was called in to the high school. Coincidence? Police think not.

"We were in the process of searching the school at the time and we had searched the perimeter and the roof and the inside hallways and we were beginning to search the classrooms when the call came in," said Grand Saline Police Chief Larry Compton. 

After the bank was robbed authorities swarmed the area; the FBI, Van Zandt County and Grand Saline joined forces on the ground with dogs and also by air. But still, the suspect and his possible accomplice remain on the loose.

"I'm just going to make sure my cars are locked and my doors are locked and just stay safe," said Davenport. "It's just scary cause sometimes my kids play over there."

Police said the suspect may be in an older green or blue Buick. Anyone with information should call Grand Saline police.

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