Robbers Hit Sandy Hook Credit Union

By Andrew Gorosko

In a bold armed robbery Tuesday morning, three men holding firearms entered the Western Connecticut Federal Credit Union, a private bank at 15 Berkshire Road (Route 34) in Sandy Hook, and threatened violence, demanding cash, after which they made off with an undisclosed amount of money.

The robbers were armed with long-barreled firearms. It is unclear if the weapons were rifles or shotguns.

The nearby Newtown High School entered lockdown mode when school officials learned of the 10:30 am robbery.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the state police’s Western District Major Crime Squad were called to the scene to investigate. The crime squad brought its evidence van to the credit union, where bright yellow “Crime Scene” tape was strung to prohibit public entry to the brick building. 

Police provided no description of the robbers. At least six town police responded to the crime scene on the misty morning.

Following the incident, an ambulance crew traveled to the credit union to attend to an employee or employees who were apparently emotionally shaken by the incident. There were reportedly about six employees inside the credit union, but no patrons, when the robbery occurred.

State police were working Thursday morning to create a picture of the robbers based on images recorded by a surveillance system in the credit union. The three men reportedly wore masks.

Credit union customers’ savings are insured against loss by the National Credit Union Administration, a federal agency.

The FBI will lead the investigation, with assistance from state police and local police. Police Chief Michael Kehoe referred all questions on the incident to the FBI.

FBI spokeswoman Vicki Woods said Wednesday that the men apparently fled the scene in a late model Jeep Cherokee sport-utility vehicle, possibly heading eastward on Interstate 84. The credit union is near the Exit 11 interchange of I-84.

When it was learned that the credit union was the target of an armed robbery, Newtown High School entered lockdown mode. The high school grounds are across Berkshire Road from the credit union.

School Principal Arlene Gottesman said, “The police asked us to go into lockdown because of an incident outside the building. The lockdown didn’t last more than 20 minutes. The kids and teachers were great. Everything went smoothly.”

In such a situation, all doors to the high school are secured and students are locked into their classrooms. 

Bank robberies are uncommon locally. The last local bank robbery occurred in April 2004 at 6 Queen Street at what was then a Fleet Bank branch office.

The most recent armed robbery in town occurred on Halloween night, October 31, when two gunmen robbed money from workers at Buzz’s Mobil, a gas station at 286 South Main Street in Botsford. Town police are investigating that crime.