March 23, 2004 – Two armed men wearing stocking masks robbed the Bank of Nova Scotia in Frederiksted on Tuesday morning and fled with an undetermined amount of money, according to authorities.
The two men entered the bank around 9:30 a.m. and ordered the 15 or so customers to lie on the floor, Deputy Police Chief Herminio Velazquez said. One of them, armed with a shotgun, stood by the bank entrance while the other, armed with a pistol, climbed atop the bank tellers' counter and ordered employees to fill several sacks with cash, Velazquez said.
The robbers were in the bank for only a few minutes, then fled in a gold Mazda 323 that had been reported stolen earlier that day in Christiansted, Velazquez said. The car was found a few hours later in the bush near Estate Oxford, he said, along with two stockings the men had worn as masks.
Police said no shots were fired and no injuries were reported in the incident. The Bank of Nova Scotia senior manager, Lia Hone, said while none of the bank employees were hurt, several were seeing crisis counselors. Hone said that, as far as she can remember, Tuesday's robbery was the first of one of her banks in four years. She said employees used the bank's silent alarm to summon police, who responded promptly.
One gunman was described as being 5'6" to 5'8" tall, slim, and wearing a plaid shirt. The other was described as being about 5'11", of medium build, and in army-style pants. Velazquez said police did not immediately have any suspects but were reviewing the bank's video surveillance tapes.
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