Three armed male suspects entered the Regions Bank on FM 1960 around 2pm Friday. They were armed with pistols and shotguns, according the Harris County Sheriff's Office.
An HPD officer who had driven to the bank with another off-duty HPD officer to make a loan payment walked into the bank and encountered the armed robbers as they left with stolen money. The officer struggled with one or more of the suspects. Then the second officer intervened. After the robbers got into an SUV, one pointed a shotgun at the second officer, who shot and killed a man in the SUV. The vehicle traveled through a parking lot.
The scene was quite gruesome. The suspected robber who was killed ended up hanging out of the SUV he was using as a getaway vehicle. The vehicle crashed into a pillar and nearly hit a dentist's office. That's when the two other suspects then ran out.
"We heard shots fired, and when we got the window, there were about two or three cops who had their guns drawn at someone I assume was on the ground," said Jamie Faerber, who works nearby. "Then several more cops showed up. Later we saw them pick him up and put him in the car."
The two suspects who bailed out of the SUV were both arrested by HCSO deputies responding to the bank robbery alarm.
The bank is located in a busy shopping center. Thankfully, no one else was hurt as this scene unfolded, but the crime garnered quite a bit of an audience.
HPD says the officer who fired his weapon is Alvin Steelman, who has 28 years on the force. He is currently assigned to the tactical division, marine unit. Steelman and the other off-duty HPD officer were reportedly at the bank on personal business.
The FBI is investigating the bank robbery and the Harris County Sheriff's Office is investigating the deadly shooting.
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