Police Seek Assistance in Finding Tuesday Bank Robber

Police have released video surveillance pictures and are asking assistance from the public in locating a man they said robbed the People’s Bank on Queen Street of an undisclosed amount of money Wednesday morning.

The unknown male entered the bank, located at 812 Queen St., around 11:20 a.m. dressed in a green hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and sneakers and walked to a teller, police said. He slipped the teller a note that said, “this is a robbery” and demanded money.

No weapon was shown and no one was injured, police said. Bank employees immediately notified police following the incident. He was last seen leaving the bank in a white SUV with Maine license plates.

Bank officials said it is common practice to give the money over in order to prevent any harm to workers or customers, but declined to discuss policies further.

In recent years, Southington has been fortunate in a sense because bank robberies and hold ups have not been a problem despite a struggling economy. Tuesday’s bank robbery was the first of the year, according to Southington Police Sgt. Lowell DePalma.

“Southington has always had occasional robbery, with six exits off of (Interstate 84) and both Waterbury and Hartford just a short distance away,” DePalma said. “We have stationed our patrols to make sure there is always good coverage of high risk areas and over the last few years, any type of robbery just hasn’t been a common occurrence.”

The man police said robbed the People’s Bank on Tuesday was described as being Hispanic, medium build and standing 5 feet, 5 inches tall.

Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or have any information regarding the suspect is asked to contact the Southington Police Department at (860)-621-0101.