OCALA, FL – A bank robbery in Ocala spiraled into a high-speed chase and ended with an officer-involved shooting on Wednesday. Authorities are still piecing together the events that unfolded around midday at a TD Bank on Southeast 17th Street.
Around 12:50 p.m., Ocala police received a call about a robbery in progress. Officers arrived at the scene within minutes, only to discover that the suspects had already fled. A group of officers soon spotted the suspect vehicle on Southeast Fort King Street, where an attempt to stop them led to a chase reaching speeds of up to 90 mph.
The pursuit, which lasted approximately six minutes, ended dramatically when the suspect vehicle crashed into a retention pond near Maricamp Road. Two of the three suspects remained in the vehicle after the crash, while a third, identified as a Black male, exited the vehicle brandishing a handgun.
Officers repeatedly instructed the armed suspect to drop his weapon. When the suspect raised his firearm, officers shot him, striking him in the right wrist. The injury was reported as non-life-threatening. All three suspects were taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation.
Charges against the suspects are expected to include bank robbery, kidnapping, fleeing and eluding, and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. The kidnapping charge stems from an incident during the robbery, where one suspect forced a bank teller to leave the bank with him at gunpoint. The teller was released unharmed once outside.
The Ocala Police Department has handed the investigation over to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) due to the officer-involved shooting. Meanwhile, Ocala police will continue to handle the robbery investigation.
The incident marks the second time in recent days that the same TD Bank location has been targeted. Last Saturday, the bank was also robbed, although details of that incident differ, involving a female suspect and a note rather than a weapon.
The police have not yet released the names or ages of the suspects involved in Wednesday’s robbery. As the investigation continues, questions linger about the bank’s security measures, with authorities considering increased security to prevent future incidents.
The community remains on edge following the chase, which posed significant challenges to officers tasked with maintaining public safety while pursuing the suspects. The lead vehicle’s role was primarily to keep the fleeing vehicle in sight, while a secondary vehicle managed communications with the police dispatch.
As the investigation unfolds, Ocala residents and bank employees are left contemplating the unsettling events that disrupted their afternoon.