Guard Shot, Killed During Gary, Indiana Bank Robbery; 1 Suspect Caught, Another Sought
GARY, Ind. (CBS) -- The FBI and police in northwest Indiana caught one suspect and are searching for another person after a security guard was shot and killed Friday afternoon during a bank robbery in Gary.
The FBI said the guard, identified by the Lake County Coroner's Office as Richard Castellana, was killed during a robbery shortly after 1:15 p.m. at the First Midwest Bank branch at 1975 W. Ridge Rd. in Gary.
Castellana, 55, worked many years with the Cook County Sheriff's Office before taking the job with the bank.
The sheriff's office released the following statement regarding his death:
We are saddened to hear about the tragic passing of our former Deputy Sheriff, Richard Castellana. Deputy Castellana served Cook County for 35 years until his retirement in 2019. He will be greatly missed by his colleagues and friends.
We send our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.
CBS 2's Jermont Terry reports several multiple police agencies are involved in searching for one of the suspects.
Lake County Sheriff's Department officials said it appears a bank security guard was ambushed outside and was shot and killed during the robbery.
Surveillance images show the deadly duo, one with a handgun and one with a long gun, both dressed in all black. Investigators say they used the weapons on the security guard.
"I probably won't never forget that," said Mike Richardson who works across the street and saw the guard lying on the ground.
He cannot believe the guard was murdered while doing his daily rounds outside the bank.
"Walking the parking lot back and forth, and he'd go in and come out," he said.
The men ambushed the guard. They shot and killed him first and then stormed the bank with the weapons to get the cash.
"Too close for comfort," Richardson said. "It makes you realize anything can happen at any time. Police officers running around with their weapons drawn like they were looking for somebody."
Investigators have not said if the gunmen had a car nearby, but moments after the robbery, Chopper 2 spotted officers in a wooded area less than two miles away. There were officers with guns drawn focused around a camper.
Police later said one robber was captured. The other is still on the run and is considered armed and dangerous.
As police try to piece the scene together, people are thinking of the security guard who came to work but did not make it home.
"It makes you think about every day," Richardson said. "You can be gone the next day. It's still sinking in when you see a guy almost every day."
Bank employees were kept at the scene being interviewed by the FBI until around 9 p.m.
The FBI and the Lake County Sheriff's Department were investigating.
