Police: Lafayette bank robbery suspect shot, killed

LAFAYETTE — Lafayette Police shot and killed a robbery suspect in a chase that began after a Friday afternoon heist at the Home Bank at 5028 Ambassador Caffery Parkway, according to reports from Lafayette Police and State Police.

The man’s vehicle attracted attention because it matched the description of a Ford F250 used in a robbery last week at another bank on Ambassador Caffery Parkway, Lafayette Police spokesman Cpl. Paul Mouton said.

Broussard Police have said a similar vehicle was also involved in a robbery on Albertson Parkway on Monday.

Officers responding to Friday’s robbery at Home Bank spotted the Ford F250 on Verot School Road, Mouton said.

“They followed it and when they tried to conduct a traffic stop, the vehicle fled,” Mouton said.

Mouton said the chase ended nearby on Queens Row when officers shot the man.

Mouton deferred all comment on the shooting to State Police, the agency that routinely investigates shootings involving police officers.

State Police spokesman Trooper Stephen Hammons confirmed that Lafayette police shot and killed the man but said he could not confirm his identity.

Mouton said one customer was in the bank at the time of the robbery, and no one was injured.

Authorities said earlier this week that they believed the same man was responsible for three recent bank robberies in Opelousas, Lafayette and Broussard based on similar descriptions of the robber’s appearance, his vehicle and the manner in which the banks were robbed.

The most recent robbery before Friday was on Monday at Regions Bank at 1208 Albertson Parkway in Broussard, according to Broussard Police.

The robber left on foot toward the Albertson’s parking lot, where he got into a gold Ford F250 with dark trim and a paper license plate, police said.

The truck is similar to one described in a robbery last week of Whitney Bank at 4524 Ambassador Caffery Parkway in Lafayette.

In Friday’s robbery, Mouton said the robber gave a note to the teller demanding money and advising that he was armed.

The robber left with an undisclosed amount of cash, Mouton said.