Suspect flees after theft with large gun

An armed man robbed the Key Bank on College Mall Road at approximately 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. The same bank was robbed two weeks ago to the hour by a man with a description similar to Wednesday's robber. \nThe suspect possibly armed with a sawed-off shotgun, robbed the bank and fled west, said Bloomington Police Department Captain Joe Qualters. The man ran, weapon in hand, down the service road between the bank and the Osco Drugstore and into a car waiting in the parking lot behind the two buildings, said eyewitness Dan Carpenter.\n"He was carrying a white plastic bag and a long, black object," said April Sievert, who also said she saw the robber escape. "I'm hoping it was an umbrella, though I doubt it."\nNo one was harmed in the robbery and an undetermined amount of money was taken, Qualters said.\nBloomington Police officers converged on the area but were unable to find the suspect.\nThe robber is described as a white male with a thin build, in his early 20s and between 5'8" and 5'10". He has light colored hair and was wearing a dark shirt and a mask during the robbery.\nCarpenter said the man had a black ski mask and black gloves.\n"It looked like he had earmuffs over his ears as he was walking in and I thought it was odd that he would wear that this time of year," he said. "Then he pulled the mask over his face and ran into the bank."\nThough the suspect has a similar description to the man who robbed the bank July 13, BPD officers haven't determined with any certainty the two robberies were related, since police haven't caught a suspect yet. This is the third bank robbery in Bloomington in as many weeks. On July 18, a man robbed the Old National Bank on Kirkwood Ave.\nBPD will be beefing up security around banks as a result of the recent incidents, Qualters said.\n"There will be increased patrols and heightened awareness due to the number of bank robberies in the last three weeks which is atypical for this community," he said. \nSenior Brandy Tolley banks at the College Mall Key Bank. She said the robberies don't bother her terribly because her money is insured by the FDIC and she does most of her banking online. But when she went into the bank branch after it was robbed the first time, she was she was a bit apprehensive.\n"I looked in all the cars that were parked outside and looked around every corner," Tolley said.\nTolley said she does not plan to switch her bank, but would like to see some increased security.\n"A lot of people that work there are very nice and I would hate to see anyone get hurt," she said. "But if this keeps happening, that increases the likelyhood"