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NEW HOPE: Wachovia Bank robbers are still at large

Anyone who recognizes the men or has information about the crime should call the FBI at 215-418-4000, the New Hope Police Department or the Bucks County Detective Bureau

By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
   NEW HOPE — Police, the FBI and Bucks County detectives are still pursuing two masked men who shot up the New Hope branch of Wachovia Bank on West Bridge Street on Jan. 27.
   ”We’ve received some tips, but nothing that’s working out,” New Hope police Chief Michael Cummings said Tuesday. “If anyone has any information, please contact us or the FBI.”
   The Philadelphia Division of the FBI, New Hope police and the Bucks County Detective Bureau are searching for two men who walked into the bank at about 1:10 p.m. and fired off two shots.
   FBI Special Agent J.J. Klaver said the men are considered armed and dangerous.
   About seven or eight employees and one customer were in the bank. No one was injured.
   The men got away with an undisclosed amount.
   ”I would say they probably have done this before, by the way they came in and the way they acted,” Chief Cummings said.
   In many cases, bank robberies begin with a note handed to a teller. This time, the men came in shooting what appeared to be a “Uzi-style looking” weapon and a rifle, according to Chief Cummings. The shots landed in the ceiling and in a wall, Special Agent Klaver said.
   Chief Cummings was scheduled to begin work Jan. 28 as the borough’s chief. Instead, the violent crime brought him in a day early.
   The FBI is the lead law enforcement agency “because of the aggressiveness of this robbery,” the chief said.
   ”When it rises to this level it becomes a priority for them,” and will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
   The gun-toting robbers were caught on camera by the bank’s security system.
   The FBI released descriptions of the two men and their getaway vehicle.
   The men are described as possibly white or Hispanic.
   One man wore a black ski mask, a dark winter jacket and black gloves. He carried a dark-colored automatic weapon, possibly an Uzi, and a dark-colored small tool bag with two horizontal white stripes and lettering on the side. Possibly the lettering spelled out “Husky.”
   The second man wore a camouflage ski mask, a light-colored winter jacket and black gloves. He carried a rifle. They fled in a late-model white, four-door sedan with unknown Pennsylvania registration. The car could possibly be a Ford Taurus.
   Anyone who recognizes the men or has information about the crime is asked to call the FBI at 215-418-4000, or the New Hope Police Department or the Bucks County Detective Bureau.
   Tipsters can remain anonymous.