(This story was updated Jan. 16 at 2:30, 5 and 11:25 p.m.)
[A] bank robbery suspect is dead after being shot by police in a standoff Tuesday behind Montpelier High School, authorities say.
Vermont State Police are investigating the shooting. The suspect was identified as Nathan Giffin, 32, of Essex.
Police said he was armed with a handgun.
No one else was injured, authorities said.
Giffin was wearing a black hoodie when he robbed the Montpelier branch of the Vermont State Employees Credit Union on Bailey Avenue about 9:30 a.m., according to Rachel Feldman, the bank’s spokesperson. Police later said the robber brandished a handgun and stole an unspecified amount of money.
About half a dozen customers were in the bank along with employees, Feldman said.
After the robbery, the suspect ran toward the football field between the high school and the Vermont Department of Labor building, where he was confronted by police.
Montpelier High School was locked down at about 9:45 a.m. Classes were in session.
According to WPTZ cameraman Oli Birgisson, who witnessed the standoff, said Giffin moved close to the bleachers, waving his hands.
Giffin fell a moment shortly after. Video footage from WPTZ shows that he appeared raise his arm with a gun. The sound of shots was heard seconds later.
State police said officers tried to negotiate with Giffin for about 50 minutes after surrounding him, while he made threatening and suicidal statements.
Giffin didn’t obey orders to drop the gun, and at that point eight troopers and one Montpelier officer opened fire, according to state police. Authorities haven’t released the names of those who fired at Giffin; they are on paid administrative leave.
Carlos Gonzalez, who lives on State Street across the Winooski River from the athletic fields, said he watched the standoff from his window.
He heard officers yell at the suspect to put his hands up. “They were saying, ‘You going to run away now? You going to run away?’”
Shots were fired from the field at 11:02 a.m.
Gonzalez’s housemate Eli Ranft heard seven or eight gunshots before he got to the window. He said he heard single shots at first, then several “pops.”
Gonzalez watched snow fly up from the ground where the bullets landed. He and Ranft both said they believed the suspect was shot during this round of fire.
“That’s when they all kind of came in on him, and that’s when they jumped on top of him,” Ranft said.
Ranft said officers appeared to seize his gun at this point.
Firefighters arrived with an ambulance, and officers lifted the suspect onto a stretcher and into the vehicle. The ambulance drove the suspect to the hospital about a half hour after the shots were fired. Montpelier Police Chief Anthony Facos later said the suspect died.
Vermont State Police are investigating the incident as an officer-involved shooting, said state police Col. Matt Birmingham.
“We are now in investigation mode. Our major crime unit and our crime scene investigation unit have been activated,” he said.
After the investigation, the Washington County state’s attorney and the Vermont attorney general’s office will both conduct independent reviews to determine whether the shooting was justified, said state police.
Police said Giffin’s lengthy criminal record included convictions for burglary and cocaine possession. He also was convicted on federal charges in 2012 for a bank robbery in Williamstown.
In the aftermath of the robbery, students at Montpelier High School were in lockdown for about two hours.
One mother, Milan Graves, came to the scene after her brother notified her of the multiple police cars outside the school. Her son is a senior and did not have a phone, she said.
At 10:30 a.m. she received a districtwide text from Montpelier School Superintendent Brian Ricca, notifying parents of the lockdown and attempted armed robbery. Ricca later said he sent the text while inside the locked-down school, where his office is located.
The lockdown at the school was lifted about 11:50 a.m. Students were called to a schoolwide assembly, according to Ricca.
The school made the decision to keep all faculty, staff and students inside the building because the police had contained the suspect outside, Ricca said.
The high school’s day will go on as usual, he said.
“We are going to try and have a reasonably normal day,” Ricca said. The elementary and middle school were not affected.
Four counselors are available at the school for students, he said. In addition, Ricca said he is asking Washington County Mental Health Services to lend a few extra counselors this week.
“I am really proud of everyone,” Ricca said. The school practices lockdown drills once a month as part of crisis planning.
This is the third robbery or attempted robbery in the state over the past week.
Feldman said it was the first time a branch of VSECU was robbed. The bank’s staff trains for what to do in robbery situations, she said.
“Our No. 1 priority is safety, Feldman said.
All witnesses to the robbery made statements to the police, Feldman said. None were available to speak to the media, Feldman said.
As of 10:30 a.m. those at the bank were waiting for detectives to investigate the scene, which had remained untouched since the robbery, Feldman said.
The bank is closed today and likely will reopen Wednesday.
State police are asking anyone who witnessed the incident or has information about it to contact them at 802-229-9191.
CORRECTION: A review of video footage provided by WPTZ did not show that the suspect was punched, as alleged by witnesses originally quoted in the story.
Read the story on VTDigger here: UPDATED: Suspect dead after credit union robbery, standoff at Montpelier High School.