Kansas bank robbery suspect killed in Oklahoma shootout, media reports say
A suspect from a Friday afternoon bank robbery in Wellington, Kansas, was killed after a high-speed chase and shootout with officers in Oklahoma, according to KFOR TV station.
Impact Bank, which is about a block from the police station in the town of about 8,000 people, was robbed at around 12:30 p.m. after a man walked in with a note and demanded cash, chief Tracy Heath said, adding he didn’t know how much cash the suspect had left with. Other employees were working, but it’s unclear if other customers were in the bank, he said.
Surveillance showed the suspect leaving in a grayish car, possibly a Chrysler.
The description of the vehicle was shared with area law enforcement, he said, adding officials believed the suspect was fleeing south on I-35.
About 30 minutes after the robbery, Oklahoma Highway Patrol spotted the suspected vehicle and got into a high-speed chase just across the state line, he said. As of around 3:35 p.m., Heath said he heard there was an officer-involved shooting, but he didn’t know if a suspect was injured or killed, only that no officer was injured.
KFOR reported that the suspect vehicle was spotted on I-35 south and shots were fired between the suspect and officials.
“Officials say the suspect then got out of his vehicle and continued to shoot as he attempted to run into a nearby field,” KFOR said. “Authorities returned fire and the suspect has been confirmed dead.”
Wellington is about 30 miles south of Wichita and a little less than that to the Oklahoma state line.
