Search Continues For Wheelchair-Bound Bank Robbery Suspect In Queens
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The search continues for a suspect who police said robbed a bank in Queens while in a wheelchair.
Cameras captured the suspect at the counter of the Santander bank on Broadway just after 2 p.m. Monday, police said.
Investigators said he passed a note to the teller demanding cash and then took off after receiving $1,200 in cash. The suspect is seen on surveillance video in jeans and grey hoodie rolling his wheelchair westbound on Broadway.
According to investigators he never showed a gun. Neighbors now want to know how he got away.
"I don't understand how someone can get away in a wheelchair," resident Katherine Tulley told CBS2's Ilana Gold.
"I'm surprised they even gave him the money," said resident Malcolm Trauth.
Police say they question if the suspect even uses a wheelchair and told CBS2 he might have been pretending to be handicapped just to get sympathy.
Police have released surveillance photos of the suspect from a nearby store that they say shows him going right by the front door after the incident.
The owner, Juan Arenas, said police mentioned the wheelchair might have been used just for the robbery.
"Based on what I overheard, they were saying, 'I think it was more of a prop,'" he said. "They kept saying, 'did they find the wheelchair?'"
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.