An Oklahoma bank robbery left two dead -- the bank's president and the robbery suspect -- following a running gun battle with police, according to KOKI-TV.
The suspect, identified by the FBI as Cedric Lamont Norris, walked into the Bank of Eufaula about 9:45 a.m. on Thursday. KOKI-TV said Norris allegedly fired on bank president Randy Peterson, 64, moments after entering the building.
"I've seen people die, but I've never seen a more horrific way to die than what I saw today," Bank of Eufaula owner Robert Simpson, told
The Oklahoman.
According to the
Tulsa World, FBI special agent Terry Weber said the suspect took an undisclosed sum from a bank teller. Weber said the man shot another bank employee when she resisted being taken hostage. KOKI-TV said authorities identified the injured teller as Betty Howell.
The Oklahoman reported that Howell underwent surgery after being hospitalized and was expected to live.
Weber said Norris allegedly took a customer hostage and left with her in his getaway vehicle, per the Tulsa World. The suspect and hostage, who KOKI-TV identified as Julie Huff, drove to Highway 69 where a police chase started.
Norris died after exchanging gunfire with police near Onapa Road, said KOKI-TV. Huff was listed in critical condition after being shot.
"Shots were fired by the suspect and law enforcement," Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Paul Timmons said, per The Oklahoman. "Both subjects in the vehicle that was being pursued were struck. One of the subjects was killed in the exchange of gunfire, the other was transported to a hospital in Muskogee."
Oklahoma Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. John Vincent told reporters that state troopers, McIntosh County Sheriff's Office deputies and Eufaula police were involved in the case but did not know who killed Norris or injured Huff.
Eufaula schools were placed on lockdown during while authorities were involved in the incident, reported KOKI-TV. Parents had to pick up their children after school buses could not leave because of the crime scene.
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