Crime & Safety

Police: Man Robbed Saddle Brook TD Bank at Gunpoint

Authorities are investigating a robbery Friday at the TD Bank on Floral Lane in Saddle Brook, police chief Robert Kugler said.

UPDATE: The suspect and an alleged accomplice in Friday's robbery of a TD Bank in Saddle Brook are in custody, Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler said.

Law enforcement officials are actively searching for an armed man who robbed the TD Bank on Floral Lane in Saddle Brook Friday morning, Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler said.

The suspect entered the bank around 11:15 a.m., displayed a black handgun and demanded that the bank teller place money in a bag for him, Kugler said. Once she complied, the suspect fled west on foot in the direction of Long Memorial Elementary School, he said.

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Kugler said that a resident who witnessed the robbery tried following the suspect for a short distance, but lost him about a block away. Police believe the suspect may have had a car parked nearby or been picked up by a second party.

The suspect is described by police as a white male in his mid 30s or 40s, between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall, and weighing about 200 pounds. He was wearing a white baseball cap, dark sunglasses, a black jacket, plastic gloves, dark grey long pants, white sneakers, and had a mustache and a small "soul patch" goatee under his lower lip, according to police.

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Kugler said the suspect made off with an undetermined amount of money, although police believe that the stash's dye pack exploded during his ecape.

Immediately following the robbery, Long Memorial and Helen I. Smith Elementary schools were both placed on perimeter lockdown as a precaution due to their proximity to the bank. The school district notified parents of the situation and asked them to avoid reporting to the schools while the investigation was ongoing, Kugler said.

As of noon, police could be seen canvassing the area for a suspect and multiple roads in the vicinity of the bank had been closed.

The lockdown was lifted and the schools were placed back under normal operations by 12:30 p.m. after the area near the schools had been deemed clear following a road by road search, Kugler said.

The Bergen County Sheriff's Office, Bergen County K-9 Unit, New Jersey FBI,  Fair Lawn Police and Elmwood Park Police responded to the scene.

Authorities are currently interviewing a number of witnesses, including the bank teller and patrons who were inside the bank when the robbery occurred, and will continue actively investigating any and all leads, Kugler said.

Police believe the suspect may be linked to recent bank robberies in Haledon, Totowa and West Orange, but a direct link has not yet been made, Deputy Chief Robert White said.

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