A man was fatally shot by police after robbing a Langley Park bank and taking a teller hostage Friday morning, and a police officer was wounded in the gunfire. Takoma Park Police Chief Ronald Ricucci said the suspect was killed outside the Capital One bank on the 1100 block of University Boulevard. He had walked outside the bank with a gun pointed at the woman's head at about 9:30 a.m. Officers moved in after the suspect apparently tripped over snow and ice. The woman ran away and escaped.
At least three people were treated for injuries that authorities said were not life-threatening. A Prince George's County police officer was grazed in the leg. One hostage was pistol-whipped and another received treatment for shock.
Six people were in the bank at the time of the incident.
Ricucci said he didn't know how many shots were fired and it's possible the police officer was hit by friendly fire.
Police said the suspect was carrying bomb-like substances that turned out to be plastic foam. But the hoax devices affected officers' responses, said Maj. Andy Ellis, a Prince George's police spokesman.
Police from Takoma Park, Montgomery County and Prince George's County responded to the robbery because the bank is near the border of the three jurisdictions.
The officers who fired their weapons were from Takoma Park and Prince George's.
It was a "very dynamic situation," Ellis said.
Thomas Manger, the Montgomery County police chief, said authorities checked the bank for explosives and the site was cleared.
Police are still investigating whether the suspect had an accomplice.
The suspect's name has not released because his family had not been notified.