TRINITY — Four schools in west Pasco were on lock down for more than an hour Tuesday while deputies searched for a gunman who robbed a bank nearby, a sheriff's office spokesman said.
Just after 11:30 a.m., a man entered Wachovia bank branch at 8740 Mitchell Blvd., waved a handgun and demanded cash from a teller. He fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of money, sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll said. No one was hurt.
Shortly afterward, the schools — Seven Springs Elementary School, Seven Springs Middle School, Trinity Oaks Elementary School and J.W. Mitchell High School — were placed in lock down, Pasco schools spokeswoman Maureen Moore said.
School officials were concerned about student safety because to the suspect being at large, Moore said.
During a lock down, students are not allowed to change classes, the lights are dimmed and instruction ceases until law enforcement gives the all-clear.
The lock down ended about 1 p.m., Moore said, after officials determined the robbery suspect was no longer in the area. The man was not found.
The Sheriff's Office described the suspect as a white male in his 50s, with short hair and bad teeth. He was wearing a blue Corona shirt, dark pants and a tan ball cap, and he was carrying a black bag, Doll said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's office toll-free at (800) 854-2862.
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