Edison Robber Who Tried to Hold up Bank Commits Suicide

The attempted armed robbery of a PNC bank branch this morning that was foiled by an armored car employee led to the shooting suicide of the robber.

The robber, whose identity hasn't been determined, tried to hold up PNC Bank, located in the Tano Shopping Center on Amboy Ave near Metuchen at 10:08 am today, according to Jim O'Neill of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

An employee of an armed car company who was in the bank at the time reportedly shot and injured the gunman during the robbery attempt. No customers were in the bank at the time of the robbery.

The injured robber fled across the parking lot of the shopping center to the A&P, where officials said he ran through and exited through a rear door. Three Edison policemen, who were off duty but still in their uniforms, were in the vicinity of the robbery and confronted the gunman at the rear of the store.

As the policemen approached the gunman, authorities said he held his gun to his head and pulled the trigger. None of the Edison officers fired their weapons during the confrontation.

After the shooting, the robber was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital where he was declared dead at 11:38 am. The Middlesex County Medical Examiner's Office has performed an autopsy on the gunman; the results, which weren't ready at the time of this writing, may determine which of the bullet wounds proved to be the fatal wound, O'Neill said.

Police remained at the scene after the shooting, and the bank was open for business at noon. Both the Edison Police Dept., the Prosecutor's Office, and the FBI are still investigating the incident.

Anyone with information on the attempted robbery is asked to call Investigator Adrian Villegas of the county Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-4428, or Det. Michael Michalski of the Edison Police Department at 732-248-7400.