Chattanooga Bank Robbery: Manager Wounded, Thief Gets Cash

A Chattanooga bank robbery left the manager shot and the thief – whose gender is unknown – on the run with an unspecified amount of money stolen from a First Tennessee Bank.

The gunman, who police say was fully covered and thereby unidentifiable as either a man or woman, fired two shots into the air before wounding the employee immediately after storming the bank on Wednesday, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.

"He came in and robbed or fired shots into the bank. An employee was shot," Chattanooga Police Officer Tim Mcfarland told News Channel 9 when asked about the bank robbery. "He was completely covered, so we're still working on suspect information. We don't know if it's a male or a female."

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According to witnesses, the shot employee was the bank's manager, who was seen being taken to a nearby hospital by first responders.

"I saw the manager being put in the ambulance," witnesses told News Channel 9. "He was sitting up though he was conscious and he didn't look to be in pain and seemed to be very alert."

The shot employee is said to have minor injuries, according to Chattanooga police, who added that the bank robbery occurred within the first two hours of the branch opening.

The robber was seen by witnesses fleeing into a nearby white Kia, the driver of which was described as a white woman by police, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported

Two miles away from the robbery, police found a discarded ski mask in the middle of the road that was believed to have been used by the suspect.

"My prayers and my very best for them. They don't deserve any problems and I hope there's no one injured badly. I'll be checking on them regularly after this is over," one bystander outside the bank told News Channel 9.

The FBI is reportedly overseeing the investigation at this point.

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Citing FBI statistics, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that there are more bank robberies in the South than in other region in the U.S. In Tennessee there were 79 bank robberies in 2011 alone.

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