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U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation

In Reply, Please Refer to Release No.

219 South Dearborn Street Chicago, Illinois 60604

February 6, 2003 Reward Offered in Alliance Bank Robbery and Shooting Thomas J. Kneir, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced today that a reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information leading to the identification and arrest of the individuals involved in this morning's attempted robbery of the Alliance Bank branch, located at 4800 South Pulaski in Chicago, and the shooting of a bank employee. According to witnesses, a female employee arrived to open the bank at approximately 7:00 AM. As she was about to enter through the front door, she was accosted by two men wearing black ski masks, both of whom were armed with handguns. She was forced into the bank and directed to take the robbers to the vault. When she was unable to open a cash drawer, they became enraged and shot the bank employee once in the leg. Both robbers then fled through the back door, while the wounded employee activated an alarm and summoned the police. She was transported to a local hospital for treatment, where she remains in fair condition. The robbers are described as black/males, 25-30 years of age. Robber #1 is 5'4" tall with a medium build. Robber #2 is 5'9" tall with a thin build. Both men wore ski masks the entire time, making further identification impossible. It is believed that these same individuals are responsible for the December 20, 2002 robbery of the Charter One Bank branch, located at 6279 West North Avenue in Oak Park, Illinois. During this robbery, a lone female employee was confronted by two masked men as she was preparing to open the bank at approximately 7:30 AM. As in today's robbery, she was forced into the vault where the robbers escaped with over $100,000. No injuries were reported in this theft, which is being investigated jointly by the FBI and Oak Park, Illinois Police Department. Anyone having any information about either of these robberies is asked to contact the FBI at (312) 431-1333. EDITOR's NOTE: Bank surveillance photos from the December 20th robbery are available from the Chicago FBI Press Office, either by courier or E-mail. No usable photos from today's robbery are available.

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