Police are searching for two suspects in the armed robbery at the Plaza Bank on the 4600 block of North Harlem Avenue that occurred late Tuesday morning.
Harwood Heights Police said the two armed offenders walked into the bank at 11:07 a.m. on Jan. 6 and pointed their guns at two employees standing behind the teller window.
The employees handed the robbers an undisclosed amount of cash, and the offenders left without incident, according to Harwood Heights Chief of Police Jim O’Grady.
“They walked in, displayed their guns, demanded the money and they were gone within two minutes,” O’Grady said.
There were no customers in the bank at the time. O’Grady said the robbers likely chose to target an empty bank to avoid being seen by additional witnesses.
“The bank has two glass sides, and it’s small—they could see there was no one inside,” he said.
A description of the offenders was not immediately available, and police could not confirm whether they fled in a vehicle or by foot.
Police notified nearby school districts of the robbery, although there was never a threat to the schools, O’Grady said.
The incident is now under investigation by the FBI.
“Money is recoverable, and we’re just grateful no one was hurt,” O’Grady said. “These guys weren’t fooling around. They had their guns out and they were ready to rob the bank.”
A similar robbery occurred last week at the Plaza Bank branch at 3555 N. Harlem Ave. in Chicago.
Two males showed a weapon to the teller and fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Authorities would not confirm whether the two robberies could be connected.
FBI agents and police were still at the scene Tuesday afternoon conducting an initial investigation, according to Joan Hyde, spokeswoman for the FBI.
“It is too soon to say if there is a connection to any other robberies,” Hyde said in an email.