$105,000 taken in armored car heist outside bank in Tacony

TACONY - April 18, 2014

It started around 9:00 a.m. Thursday when the armored car arrived at the TD Bank on the 6600 block of Frankford Avenue to make a delivery.

Police say the crew was confronted by two men armed with semi-automatic rifles. They forced them to hand over bags of money with about $105,000.

It was a frightening moment for bank customers and witnesses.

"Yeah, the lady was inside screaming," said Alios Ndiyo.

"Never think something like this could go on, especially with semi-automatic weapons. That was a little scary and I just thank God nobody got shot and nobody got hurt," said Edward Diehl.

Witnesses told police the two robbers then fled in a white minivan. A short time later police found the van two blocks away on the 6600 block of Tackawana Street, about two blocks away.

The tags on the van were registered to an address in Abington.

Witnesses told police the two men in the van were joined by at least two other men in a white Cadillac Escalade. They say they transferred the money to the Escalade and sped off.

Police sources say someone got a tag number from the Escalade and they were able to trace it to the Henry on the Park apartments in Roxborough. When they got there they found the Escalade parked outside building F.

Police have been inside a third floor apartment, but there's been no sign of the vehicle's owner. However, inside the apartment they did find a large plastic bag stuffed full of cash.

Investigators believe whoever owns the Escalade ran out a back door of the building when the police arrived, leaving behind the bag of cash.

Later when the woman who lives in the apartment showed up police took her in for questioning. Her red Mercedes along with the Escalade were taken away by police.

Neighbors watched police and FBI agents collect evidence inside the apartment until they left around 2:00 a.m. Friday.

Police described the two gunmen as black males wearing hoodies and blue jeans. They also had bandannas over their faces.

The FBI and the police are going over video surveillance from the bank, and they have fanned out throughout the immediate neighborhood looking for video surveillance from businesses and private homes.

It appears to have been a well-coordinated heist, and at this point, the robbers are still on the run.

Investigators believe this heist may be related to one on Halloween that netted $300,000 from the same armored car company.

A $25,000 reward remains in that robbery.

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