Witnesses and residents went into a panic as an attempted robbery turned into a shootout in north suburban Richmond earlier this month, and tapes of 911 calls made during the incident describe the chaos that flooded the small town.
Authorities said an operation was underway in the area when the shooting occurred outside Associated Bank, on the 10000 block of North Main Street.
"Our agents encountered three subjects who had been -- they've been looking for in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation," said Special Agent Joan Hyde.
The suspects, alleged would-be bank robbers, never made it inside. The shootout happened in the parking lot, with one person shot and killed by an agent. Two others were taken into custody, Hyde explained.
In frantic voices, some shrieking, others quivering, reports of the shooting express the fear many felt witnessing the scene.
“Oh my God, oh my God… there’s, at Richmond Bank, there’s somebody outside with a gun,” one caller said. “He’s outside. He’s shooting.”
“We heard a gunshot by the Ace Hardware,” another caller said. “I don’t know there was a ton of running. I don’t know what’s going on.”
Local
One dispatcher had to ask a caller to “please calm down” in an attempt to keep them from screaming into the phone.
The incident put nearby schools on a "light" lockdown for about an hour but caused residual delays on normally busy nearby streets.
Two men whose accomplice was shot dead by an FBI agent in northwest suburban Richmond on Friday were subsequently charged in connection with a string of armed robberies in the Chicago area, authorities said.
