Robbers on the run after Gwinnett bank robbery

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Gwinnett County police are still looking for two men who robbed a Wells-Fargo bank in Lawrenceville Friday morning.

Police said two armed and masked men rushed into the bank on Lawrenceville Highway and Bethesda School around 9:30 a.m.

"This was pretty standard takeover-style bank robbery," said Cpl. Jake Smith of the Gwinnett County Police Department.

The gunmen held the eight employees inside the bank at gunpoint as they robbed the teller stations then took off in a silver car with a bagful of cash.

Officers quickly spotted the car and gave chase, but police said the men ditched the car off Cruse Road and ran into the woods.

"The officers' first reaction all the time is, are they armed? Do they have a gun? Are they going to shoot at me," Smith explained.

Police said officers only went into the woods after the suspects once they saw the robbers left their guns and all the cash in the car.

"It's just a dangerous situation to be chasing people blind into the woods like that," Smith said.

And by the time K-9 units and helicopters showed up to help with the search, the suspects were gone. The drama left neighbors unnerved, but not shocked.

"It doesn't surprise me," said Sue Newman of Lawrenceville. "This area has turned into a crime area and I feel for the safety of the people and the residents."

Meanwhile, police said the clues the suspects left in the car boost the odds they'll get caught.

"Any time they leave any kind of physical evidence, anything they've touched, that can be a big help in the case," said Smith.

There were no customers inside the bank at the time of the robbery. Friday afternoon, a Wells-Fargo representative confirmed the same branch got robbed two years ago.

WSBTV