Police kill Saugus bank robbery suspect

MALDEN – Police killed one man and took two more into custody following a bank robbery in Saugus late Friday afternoon that quickly turned into an hours-long manhunt in Malden.Police shot and killed a man near the Malden/Saugus border sometime after 7 p.m. Friday whom they believed robbed Saugus Bank off Route 1 hours earlier, according to Cara O’Brien, a spokesperson with the Middlesex District Attorney’s office.Click for more photos from the scene.O’Brien said police arrested another suspect around the same time. At 8 p.m., two Massachusetts State Police troopers arrested a second suspect and turned him over to Malden Police, according to a press release from the department.O’Brien said there were three known suspects but said the investigation remained “very active” as of 10 p.m.Soleil Diakaba, 24, said he was at his friend’s house a block from the Granada Highlands apartment complex off of Route 99 in Malden when he said he heard about 10 gunshots.”I seen a lot of police cars coming up here and one of the persons got caught right around the corner,” said Diakaba, who lives in the complex. “He had a bullet proof vest on and he was pretty big.”At 7:45 p.m., investigators were collecting evidence left on the lawn of the apartment complex, including a small silver handgun, a black duffel bag of cash, a pack of Marlboro Red cigarettes, a pair of black leather gloves and a flat head screwdriver.The chaotic scene unfolded when armed men robbed the Saugus Bank at 412 Lynn Fells Parkway late Friday afternoon, according to Saugus Police. They and other police officials declined to say what time.Malden Police shut down Route 99 off Route 1 southbound around 5:30 p.m. after it became clear the bank robbery suspects had fled in that direction.At 6 p.m., Massachusetts State Police reported in a press release that a 911 caller saw three armed men dropping money and attempting to carjack a vehicle in the 500 Broadway area of Malden. They said shots were fired in that location.At 6:30 p.m., Federal Bureau of Investigation and local police had their guns drawn at the JRM Hauling and Recycling facility on Eastern Avenue in Malden. SWAT entered a small green building in the front of JRM building but left shortly after without incident.Shawn Phipps and Billy Smirnoff work at DC Auto down the street from JRM and saw police running through the yard of their shop.Smirnoff described the suspect as a light-skinned black male with dreadlocks.”I saw the cops chasing him and he had his gun out,” said Smirnoff. “It was a black pistol. I was trying to get out of the way.”Smirnoff had video on his phone of police with guns running down the railroad tracks behind the shop.”The guy ran up on me with a gun,” said Smirnoff. “I was out on the street looking and he ran right by and ran into the back. The cops chased him and he doubled back and hopped the fence and tried to carjack some people.”Police cleared the scene about an hour later, then at around 8 p.m. SWAT surrounded a home about two miles north on Central Avenue near Broadway. SWAT entered the home and left about 15 minutes later, again without incident.Earlier, the city of Malden issued a code red warning for people living in a one-mile radius of 500 Broadway, warning them to stay in their homes and lock their doors.The message, posted on the city’s Facebook page, said “At approximately 5 p.m., a very serious incident occurred involving a firearm at 500 Broadway in Malden. At this time the Malden Police are fully deployed in a search for the suspects.”O’Brien said the shooting remains under investigation.Amber Parcher can be reached at [email protected] Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].