The Kent Police Department is investigating an alleged robbery at the Kent branch of Huntington Bank on the morning of May 31.
Just after 9 a.m., a person entered the bank, located at 101 E. Main St., wearing a pink mask, pink hoodie and a stocking cap with a felt mohawk. The person was carrying a beige bag, apparently hoping to stuff it with cash.
Police said the suspect aimed a firearm at a bank teller along with a note demanding money. What the note said, how much money the suspect demanded and the amount of money the suspect took from the bank were not specified in a statement from the police department.
Representatives for Huntington Bank could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for the Kent Police Department was not available.
According to a witness, officers were at the scene and the location was secured by 9:30 a.m., but police have not announced an arrest or the name of the suspect.
The suspect was described in a police press release as “heavy-set, Black, [and of] unknown gender.” In addition to the pink outfit, the suspect also wore a large silver watch and dark pants.
Huntington Bank was closed for the rest of day, with a sign on the front door reading “Office temporarily closed due to an emergency.” The sign did not indicate when the branch will resume normal operations.
Police are asking for tips and information from the public, and the FBI is expected to investigate.
The last bank robbery in Kent took place on Christmas Eve 2016, when a woman named Fellicia Smith robbed the Fifth Third Bank at 1597 S. Water St. with a knife. Smith, along with three others, pleaded guilty to robbery in that case in 2019.
This was the fourth robbery of a Huntington Bank location in Ohio this month. Authorities are searching for two suspects in the May 10 robbery of a branch in Maumee and one suspect in the May 16 robbery of Huntington Bank in Brooklyn.
Most recently, a Huntington Bank branch on Chester Avenue in Cleveland was robbed May 28. The FBI is involved in those investigations
Contact Kent Police with information regarding this investigation at 330-673-7732 or the FBI tip line at 1-877-FBI-OHIO.
Owen MacMillan is a reporter with the Collaborative News Lab @ Kent State University, producing local news coverage in partnership with The Portager.