Fleeing gunman hands out $200 to 2 window shoppers

Monday, May 3, 2010 5:20 PM
Updated: Monday, May 3, 2010 11:27 PM

A robber who held up a Short North bank this afternoon had a moment of generosity while escaping: He handed out $200.

The man showed a teller a gun in his waistband while robbing the Huntington Bank at 662 N. High St. about 1:30 p.m. The teller gave the man money, and he ran north on High Street.

That's when he saw a mother and daughter window shopping.

"The robber comes out of the bank, runs between them and gives them each $100," FBI Special Agent Harry Trombitas said.

The women asked him, "This isn't real, is it?" and the robber responded, "I can assure you that it is."

The two were in town from Cleveland to visit Ohio State University as a possible school for the daughter, Trombitas said.

"We won't know until we catch him what he was thinking," he said.

"One interesting thing: Apparently sometime prior to the robber handing them the money, a homeless man came up to these two, and the mother gave the man a small amount of money.

"We don't know if he (the robber) saw" that donation, Trombitas said.

The women went to the bank to see if the money was real, but found the doors locked because of the robbery. They told police what had happened and handed over the money.

Trombitas wouldn't give their names.

"She told me she had to set the right example for her daughter, so they had to tell police what occurred," he said. "She was being a good mom."