Suspect in Hatboro bank robbery chased down, shot by town official

The witness to a Hatboro bank robbery who chased down and shot a fleeing suspect on Wednesday morning was a government official in the borough, investigators said.

At around 10:15 a.m., police responded to a holdup alarm at the TD Bank on the 200 block of South York Road, at West Lehman Avenue, according to the Bucks County Courier Times

When a dye pack exploded as the suspect fled the scene, Hatboro Council Member George Forgeng (pictured left) took notice and pursued him through a wooded area before shooting him in the parking lot of the Station Park Business Center, about a quarter of a mile from the bank, NBC 10 reports.

The suspect, described by police as a black male, was brought into custody before he was taken to Abington Hospital-Jefferson Health to receive treatment for wounds to the arm and hand.

Investigators have not yet determined whether Forgeng was justified in using his weapon. No weapon was recovered from the suspect, despite his reportedly carrying a note into the bank claiming he would shoot unless he was delivered money.

According to a Montgomery News report, Hatboro Police Chief Jim Gardner stated "there were multiple witnesses" who police were interviewing. Gardner also acknowledged "[it's] a pretty good distance" from the bank to the location where the suspect was shot. 

Forgeng, 60, has been a resident of Hatboro since 1978, according to voterguide.org, and is currently a teacher at Harry S. Truman High School in Levittown, Bucks County. 

The Hatboro branch of TD Bank has now been robbed four times in the past two-and-a-half years. Authorities allege the first three robberies were committed by one man, Clark F. Leary, who remains in a Philadelphia federal detention center awaiting charges on the robberies that occurred between January 2013 and October 2015.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office had no further comment on the incident when contacted by PhillyVoice.