Breaking: Bank Robbery, Possible Hostage Situation Unfolding in Pearland, Texas

[IScreamSundays]

Source: ABC News

Will update

Video Link http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6105570

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/

[Lasher]

1. Another link here

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=7873314

Hostages held in bank robbery in Pearland

PEARLAND, TX (KTRK) -- A bank manager has been wounded during a terrifying robbery playing out in Pearland, involving reportedly several hostages.

At about 11:30am, the heist went down at the Chase bank at 1915 North Main Street, near a Walmart. Armed suspects are still in the building threatening violence against several hostages. Unconfirmed reports are there are two gunmen and four hostages. It's not clear who the hostages are, but there were customers in the building at the time.

SWAT officers are on the scene, and police have requested Eyewitness News stop providing live streaming video from SkyEye above the scene, due to security precautions.

Pearland police have confirmed the bank manager was beaten severely by the suspects. Shots had been fired inside the bank, leading to confusion over how the manager was injured. He was taken by ground ambulance to a nearby hospital. His condition is unknown.

[IScreamSundays]

2. Thanks Lasher

:-)

[Lasher]

5. I didn't know where Pearland was till I looked it up just now.

Just south of Houston, I see. Hope this is rectified soon with nobody else hurt.

[jwirr]

3. Given the state of our economy and the anger at banks and bankers

I am surprised more of this has not been happening. Too many are losing everything. Hopefully the hostages and the banker will be okay.

[boppers]

9. It actually happens quite a lot.

The banks prefer minimal publicity for it, because if everybody knew how frequent, and easy, it was, it would likely happen a lot more often.

Ask yourself how many bank robberies you think happened in, oh, 2008.

50? 100? 200?

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2010/february/robberies_022310

6,700

That's 10-20 per *DAY*.

[jwirr]

15. Wow!

[musette_sf]

6. thanks for the link

(even though it gave me Dave Ward flashbacks... "Good evening friends...", and Kay's on Bissonnet)

Way to do New Year's Eve, assholes. Hope this gets resolved with the least damage done, though it doesn't look good now.

[Lasher]

8. Pleased to be Sundays' humble assistant in this.

Good LBN scoop.

[freshwest]

11. I visited and shopped in that very neighborhood years ago.

And a nice community bank in my own neighborhood in Houston had a similar situation where one teller was shot in the hand and the rest of the people terrorized. Emotionally, the staff there never really y recovered and the bank closed a year later after being there for ten years and doing a lot of good, donating, helping out people, etc.

Back then there were a lot of home invasion robberies, car jacking and other crimes going on at the time. Pearland is a suburb but all of that area is tremendously built up. I don't know that the level of crime in the Houston has increased. Growing up there, all types of crime was just a fact of life. You really had to pay attention.

Sorry to see this happening and hope it's over soon without anyone Else getting hurt.

[IScreamSundays]

4. Hostages held in botched bank robbery

At least two armed men are holding hostages in a foiled bank robbery in Pearland, Texas, local media reported police as saying Friday.

"We're trying to resolve the situation peacefully," Pearland Police Lt. Onesmio Lopez was quoted as saying by the Houston Chronicle.

The bank's manager was beaten up, and several shots had been heard earlier.

It was not clear how many hostages were being held, Lopez said.

snip>
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/40864305/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

[monmouth]

7. We had a guy here last week who went into a B of A bank, without

a mask. Gave the teller a note and she gave him the money...Gets caught, quite easily. Told the detectives he was a heroin addict, couldn't get a job, hopeless situation as he saw it so purposely committed the crime to go back to jail..Sad times for many out thee.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Turbineguy]

12. Isn't that

Tom Delay country?

[TBF]

14. Technically yes -

but he lives over in Sugarland as far as I know. This is in the older part of Pearland. Very old small town that now has suburbs on the western side with folks who commute downtown (it's a fairly easy commute to medical center). Last week a woman was held up at gun point in a Walmart near that bank - maybe the same folks?

[IScreamSundays]

13. 1 Suspect Apprehended,

1 Remains at Large in Pearland, Texas Hostage Situation

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6105570