Staff report
CHINA GROVE ó Authorities were searching Friday evening for a man who robbed a bank earlier in the day, causing officials to lock down two nearby schools.
According to reports, the man robbed Community Bank of Rowan, 313 E. Centerview St., around 9:45 a.m. The crime was reported as an armed robbery, though the man did not display a weapon, but “verbally demanded money from a teller, who complied,” a China Grove Police press release said. The man made off with an undisclosed amount of money.
Witnesses described the suspect as a black male in his 20s, approximately 6 feet tall and 175 pounds with facial acne and afro-style bushy black hair. He wore a black T-shirt over a white T-shirt, black windbreaker pants, a white hat and sunglasses. He also wore green latex gloves.
He was last seen driving north on Bostian Street, toward Salisbury, in a gold or beige, late-model sedan, possibly a Honda.
In response to the bank robbery, lockdowns were imposed at China Grove elementary and middle schools Friday morning, according to Rita Foil, public information officer for the Rowan-Salisbury School System.
“It’s what we call a ‘yellow code lockdown,’ ” Foil said, “which basically means all the exterior doors are locked. We were probably not under lockdown anymore than 30, 45 minutes …
“It was a precautionary thing, and it was probably so quick that students didn’t even realize what happened.”
Students are not allowed to go outside during a lockdown.
Foil said law enforcement is involved in determining when lockdowns are held. In this case, she said, the lockdowns were called off when law enforcement contacted officials at both schools to notify them that the bank robber suspect was nowhere in the area.
Investigators ask anyone with information regarding the suspect to call the China Grove Police Department at 704-857-7755 or Rowan County Crimestoppers.