Suspect Dead, Officer Injured In Attempted Bank Robbery In Colton

COLTON (CBSLA) — All employees and customers of a Chase bank were safely evacuated after an attempted robbery Tuesday night in Colton.

The call came in after a silent alarm was activated and called police to the scene for a robbery in progress.

When police arrived, gunfire erupted from the front of the bank through the front windows. One officer sustained a minor injury, but it was said to be non-life threatening.

The officers retreated — and said they did not return fire — and called SWAT to assess and handle the standoff.

Officers originally said there were two armed suspects inside the bank, but upon further investigation they found one suspect dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His identity has not been released.

A tactical team was sent inside to investigate what was inside the bag, but its contents were not immediately disclosed.

Investigators are expected to be at the scene for another few hours, and streets in the area of East Washington Street and South Cooley Drive East were closed while that investigation continued.