Chicago area bank robberies take dive so far this year

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Even as Bonnie and Clyde-style teams of robbers with AK-47 assault rifles have taken over separate northern Illinois banks the past ten days, total bank robberies here are in sharp decline so far this year.

Bank robberies are down almost 25 percent in 2018 versus the same period last year, the I-Team has learned.

Tuesday's heist at NorStates Bank, 5384 Grand Ave. in Gurnee, was the 41st bank holdup this year compared with 54 at this time last year.

The Gurnee hold-up happened just before 11am when FBI officials say a man and woman wearing red masks took over the bank using an AK-47 rifle. They escaped in a Nissan Rogue model vehicle, circa 2015-2018.

The same make and model assault rifle was used on May 11 when a man and woman robbed Old Second Bank in Ottawa, Illinois. No one was shot during either of the armed robberies, both of which are categorized as "takeover" crimes because the suspects commandeered the bank, its employees and patrons during business hours.

While the suspects are male and female teams in both cases, carrying the same kind of firepower, in the Ottawa stick-up the man pictured in surveillance cameras appears to be African-American. The other bandits are said to be white.

In Tuesday's Gurnee robbery the first suspect are described as a white female, 5'6'' to 5'7'', weighing 200 pounds. She carried a black duffel bag, and wore a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, black shoes, and a red face mask according to federal agents.

The second Gurnee suspect is described as a white male, 6'0'', weighing 175 pounds. He wore a black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, black

"Jordan"-brand shoes with a red sole, also with a red face mask.