After an armed bank robbery in Culver City led to the lock down of two schools and the evacuation of a T.J. Maxx, police gave up an hourslong search for two men involved in the crime. Two others were detained.
The robbery occurred at the One West Bank branch located at 10784 Jefferson Blvd., the Culver City Police Department said around 9:40 a.m.
Shots were fired at the bank, but no injuries were reported, police officials said. It was not known how much money the robbers got away with.
Bank security guard Frederick R. James said all the men had on surgical gloves.
James said one of the robbers opened fire and chased him.
“He starts shooting as I turn this way,” James said. “He was chasing me because he kept shooting at me.”
James feared he had been shot, but he was not wounded.
“Everything was going through my mind because I didn’t look back,” James said.
One man was detained after a foot pursuit near the bank, police Lt. Sam Agaiby said.
Police set up a perimeter after another suspected robber was seen running in the area of the 11300 block of Hannum Avenue, according a police news release. Several blocks were cordoned off with police tape, and SWAT truck was on scene.
All customers and employees were evacuated from a nearby T.J. Maxx, where authorities believed one of the suspected robbers was hiding, according to Culver City Police Department Sgt. Leon Lopez.
One man was detained outside the store, where witnesses said he pretended to be shopping before he was taken into custody.
A door-to-door search involving K-9 units and an armored vehicle also took place.
About 4:15 p.m., police said the two men being sought remained at large and the search had ended.
Both outstanding robbers were described by police as black men in their 20s. One was wearing a dark-colored sweater, while the other wore a black hooded-sweatshirt, sunglasses and a baseball hat, authorities said. No further description was provided.
Police have not identified the two men who have been detained, nor did they state their suspected involvement in the incident.
Two schools, El Rincon Elementary School and El Marino Language School, were placed on modified lockdown amid police activity in the area, according to tweets from the Culver City Unified School District. All students were “safe and accounted for” at both schools, the district tweeted.
Parents and guardians were being told by district officials not to pick up their children while the schools were on modified lockdown.
KTLA’s Jennifer Thang and Feven Kiflegiorgis contributed to this story.
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