‘Leprechaun’ bank robber shot dead by police
First State Bank in the Nashville suburb of Gallatin was held up by a man who wore a costume and carried a large-caliber gun, said Sgt Bill Storment, a spokesman for the Gallatin Police Department.
Sharon Riehemann, manager of the Fifth Third Bank next door, said the costumed man — wearing a green top hat, vest and shorts and a fake brown beard and wig — had come into her bank a few minutes before the robbery. The lobby was crowded with lunchtime customers.
“He started to come in, then looked at his watch, then turned around and left,” she said. She didn’t see a weapon or anyone with him.
He walked toward the other bank, and then minutes later he ran out of the bank with a bag in his hands, Riehemann said.
Police said two men were in the car that sped away, and they fired at police during the chase, disabling one police car. Storment said the two ditched their vehicle and ran into a field. They were killed while exchanging fire with officers, he said.
No officers were injured, and money was recovered from the suspects’ vehicle, he said. Police wouldn’t say how much money was taken from the bank. Storment said police are trying to identify the two men.
