Elementary school placed on lockdown after shot fired during Orange County bank robbery

Authorities were searching for an armed man who robbed a bank in Orange County Thursday afternoon, prompting a nearby elementary school to be placed on lockdown after a shot was fired.

An Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson told KTLA 5 News that deputies were dispatched to the Chase Bank near the intersection of Portola and Bake parkways in Foothill Ranch just after noon.

“Based off witness statements, we believe that the suspect walked up to the counter and fired a round in the direction of the bank teller,” said Sgt. Frank Gonzalez with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. “It landed near the feet of the bank teller.”

The male suspect was able to flee the scene before authorities arrived.

The sheriff’s department issued an advisory on Facebook, telling residents to avoid the area “until further notice” as authorities searched for the suspect.

Deputies said Foothill Ranch Elementary was placed on lockdown after the robbery as a precautionary measure. At 2:35 p.m., the lockdown was lifted ; authorities stated that students were only being released from the front of the school.

KTLA 5’s Gil Leyvas from Sky5 said a nearby neighborhood was also placed on lockdown.

Video from Sky5 shows deputies searching the hillside near the plaza where the bank is located with K9 units. Authorities were also seen speaking with people who appeared to be bank employees.

Gonzalez described the suspect as a “fully masked” man who was wearing a yellow sweater, tan pants and a bucket hat.

He was last seen heading eastbound on Portola Parkway on foot.

Officials told KTLA 5’s Orange County Bureau Chief Chip Yost that the loss to the bank was “substantial” and could be as much as $25,000.

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