Cops Seek 2 More Suspects After Texas Bank Hostage Standoff
Jan. 1, 2011— -- Police are hunting more suspects after a five-hour hostage standoff and attempted New Year's Eve robbery at a Texas bank.
"We are working with the FBI and a task force in order to apprehend the suspects," Pearland, Texas, Police Department spokesman Lt. Onesimo Lopez told ABCNews.com today.
Police have not determined the exact number of people involved, but believe two suspects in the robbery still may be at large after fleeing the scene.
Two other suspects in the Houston-area bank robbery and hostage standoff are under arrest, each being held on $13 million bail. Samuel Bonner, 39, and Raymond Tierra Johnson, 29, both have been charged with 13 counts of aggravated robbery, Lopez said.
One bank employee was assaulted, but there were no serious injuries in the robbery, which saw 10 people taken hostage by the armed men, police told the Houston Chronicle newspaper. No money was taken in the attempted heist.
Approximately 60 cops, FBI agents and SWAT officers surrounded the Chase Bank in Pearland Friday before Bonner, armed with a handgun, released the final two hostages and was placed under arrest.
Police were notified of the robbery by a 911 call.
"About 11 a.m. a 911 call came from a witness who observed a couple of suspects going into the bank wearing masks. They were moving rapidly," Lopez said. "The witness had enough snap to realize something bad was about to happen and called 911. Our dispatcher sent officers to the scene."
At least two of the suspects demanded money from the safe with guns drawn, according to police. The bank's manager refused and was beaten for resisting.
"He was just covered in blood," said Christina Hinojosa, the manager at the Loan Depot adjacent to the bank.
The manager has been released from the hospital after treatment for his injuries and is doing well, Lopez told Reuters.
"Very scary, very scary. I've never seen anything like it and hope I never have to again," added Hinojosa, whose store was used as a shield by the SWAT team.
