Robbery unsuccessful, hostages still locked in bank vault

An hour after a team of armed men entered the First Community Bank at 15 S. Main Street, police released a statement stating that they believed that all the robbers were dead.

The robbery turned fatal, left several hostages locked in the bank's vault. One hostage, Jimmy Rodriguez was able to make a call to the Courier.

"There's five of us in here and two of the other people are on the phone with 911 operators," Rodriguez said.

According to Rodriguez there were three or four armed men who pushed patrons to the back end of the bank. There they forced the bank manager to open the vault doors and locked everyone inside.

The bank manager, however, was shot when he struggled against the door, according to Rodriguez.

According to Johny Springfiled, an employee at the Mad Monkey Deli across the street from the bank, there were two shots fired, and three people holding shotguns in the bank.

"A big van showed up and all these SWAT officers in black suits came rushing out of the back," Springfield said. "And then, within minutes, there was more gunfire."

Police believe that in the struggle the bank manager activated some sort of security feature, that locked the vault down.

In a press release from the Police Department they stated, "The vault is now malfunctioning, possibly as a result of the computerized control panel being damaged during a firefight between the robbers and police officers. The Community Police Department is seeking any locksmiths or other citizens who believe they may be able to help disable the vault's computerized locking mechanism."