Florence police investigate bank robbery

Florence police are looking for the man who they said robbed the Williamsburg First National Bank on West Palmetto Street late Tuesday morning.

The robbery happened about 11 a.m. when a suspect walked into the bank carrying a black semi-automatic handgun and demanded money, Florence Police Maj. Carlos Raines said. The tellers complied with the man’s demands and he got away with an undisclosed amount of money.

The suspect walked out of the bank, crossing West Palmetto Street and heading south, Raines said.

A man matching the description of the suspect was last seen by a city sanitation worker near Shandon Street and Brettwood Drive in County Club Forest neighborhood, Raines said. Investigators think the suspect left the area in a car from that point.

The robber is described as a white man with a mustache is in his mid-40s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing about 220 pounds. Witnesses also said he spoke with a Midwestern accent, Raines said.

They also said the man was wearing a camouflaged jacket, sunglasses and bandages on both sides of his face. The bandages could have been used as a distraction, or they could have been hiding a birth mark or mole on the suspect’s face, Raines said.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the police department at (843) 665-3191 or Crime Stoppers of the Pee Dee at (843) 667-TIPS (8477) or (866) 369-TIPS (8477). Callers need not reveal their identities.