Suspects in attempted armored car robbery in custody after police chase that caused lockdowns
Details about those apprehended or the charges they could face were not immediately clear.
Multiple suspects are in custody following a Friday afternoon police pursuit that resulted in school lockdowns and a shelter-in-place order in Lower Merion Township.
The chase erupted shortly before noon in the area of City Line Avenue, leading to an hourslong incident. It came after the FBI responded to an alleged attempted robbery of an armored vehicle, said Sofia Kettler, a spokesperson with the bureau’s Philadelphia division.
Officials with the Lower Merion Police Department and Philadelphia Police Department referred The Inquirer to the FBI for comment. Additional details about the robbery attempt or those taken into custody were not immediately available, and Kettler declined to comment further, citing an ongoing investigation.
In response to the incident, Lower Merion police issued a shelter-in-place order for the Bala Cynwyd area, writing in a social media post that officers were searching for three potentially armed suspects. Bala Cynwyd residents were advised to remain indoors and not approach police officers as part of the order, which was lifted just before 2 p.m.
The Lower Merion School District also issued a lockdown order for at least eight of its schools, including Lower Merion High School, Belmont Hills Elementary School, and Bala Cynwyd Middle School. Police, the district said in messaging to parents, were pursuing a robbery suspect, and there was no immediate danger to students or staff. The lockdown lasted a few hours before being lifted, according to postings on the district’s social media accounts.
Saint Joseph’s University, whose Hawk Hill campus is located on the 5600 block of City Avenue, was also briefly placed in a lockdown on Friday afternoon amid the pursuit.
Officials declined to discuss further details about the incident, and the FBI did not immediately respond to questions about the number of suspects placed into custody, or what charges they might face.
It was also unclear if those apprehended were suspected in any other armored car robberies, which had been plaguing the region this summer.
In August, the bureau announced a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of men involved in several armored-car robberies and an attempted robbery earlier this year. The reward announcement noted that authorities were searching for two to three suspects who robbed the vehicles while armed with handguns and AR-style rifles.
Another group of Philadelphia men were charged with robbery and related offenses for stealing $2 million from an armored Brinks truck in Port Richmond in June. Wayne Jacobs, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia office, told The Inquirer in August that authorities were “committed to holding [people] accountable.”
“To those who would engage in similar behavior: Your time will come,” he said.