UPDATE: Police have identified and charged the man detained in connection to last night’s deadly bank robbery in downtown Cairo.
James Watts, 29, of Cairo has been charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Around 9 p.m., a few hours after the robbery of First National Bank on Washington Ave. that left two bank employees dead and another critically injured, Watts was spotted driving a vehicle that belonged to one of the employees, leading police on a high-speed chase across town.
Watts fled the vehicle and was arrested on foot near a railroad trestle. Authorities found him in possession of a .38 caliber semi-automatic pistol.
Watts is currently in federal custody in the Williamson County detention center and wasn’t immediately accused of the holdup.
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Multiple law enforcement organizations are investigating a bank robbery in Cairo, Ill. last night that resulted in at least two fatalities and a person in custody.
Around 5:15 PM yesterday, a man entered the First National Bank in downtown Cairo with a knife and handgun and demanded money.
During the incident, two bank employees were killed and a third critically injured. The injured employee was air-lifted to a hospital in Cape Girardeau and is currently undergoing treatment.
The Illinois State Police are being assisted by the FBI, who detained one person of interest a few hours after the incident, but are declining to release the name of the person or the injured employees at this time.
The investigation is ongoing; a portion of downtown Cairo is still closed to traffic.
Illinois State Police are expected to make a further statement later this afternoon.