Bank robber shoots at police-takes his own life
Colton CA October 6 2019
A suspected bank robber fired at arriving police officers from inside a Colton bank, Tuesday night, Oct. 1, and then shot and killed himself, police said.
The gunfire from inside the Chase bank in the 2000 block of East Washington Street shattered a front window, injuring an officer who was treated at a hospital for a minor injury.
The officer was one of four who arrived at the bank around 6 p.m. after police got a report of a robbery in progress, Colton Sgt. Ray Mendez said.
The officer may have been wounded by flying glass, debris, or perhaps a bullet fragment, Mendez said Wednesday afternoon.
Police were contacted around closing time for the bank.
“A patron had called us to say someone was still inside, and the bank was possibly getting robbed,” Mendez said.
A SWAT team made up of Colton, Fontana and Rialto police officers surrounded the building following the shooting.
After the suspect’s gunfire, witnesses told officers the suspect was down inside the bank, and the SWAT team and the San Bernardino County Bomb Squad cleared the building, finding the suspect dead.
Mendez said detectives were still looking into other details, including what kind of gun the suspect had. His identity has not been released.
