Bank robbed at gun point

      Held at gun point, a teller at Dime Savings Bank in East Meadow was forced to give an undetermined amount of money to a man displaying a silver handgun.
      "The man walked into the bank, displayed a gun and robbed one teller and then left," said Detective Sgt. Gary Schriffen, of the robbery squad of the Nassau County Police Department.
      The robbery occurred at the Dime Savings Bank at 501 Bellmore Avenue around 1:40 p.m. on Aug. 16.
      If caught, the subject will be charged with robbery in the first degree because of the use of a handgun. He is described as a male Caucasian in his mid-40's, of medium build, clean shaven and wearing black frame glasses, a red shirt and a dark baseball cap.
      He was last seen entering a late model dark gray, possibly black, Cadillac with a smoked rear window. The suspect fled westbound on Chestnut Street. As of press time, the police had not taken anyone into custody and the investigation was ongoing.
      Nassau County averages about the same number of bank robberies each year, approximately15, including the one at Dime Savings Bank and a recent robbery at Malverne's Astoria Federal Savings Bank.
      "It's not a big problem," Schriffen said. "There isn't a large outbreak of bank robberies. We have had incidents where the individuals do come back and rob the bank again, but ordinarily the [same] bank is not hit [twice]."
      Schriffen said the robbery squad has a decent arrest record for bank robberies in the past
      The robbery squad in Nassau County, however, does notify police authorities in both Suffolk County and New York City to see if the suspect has similarities in their areas.
      "At this time, we don't believe the subject is involved in any other robberies," Schriffen said.
      As for the bank, operations have resumed and Schriffen said the bank was not deficient in security or safety, making it unnecessarity to improve these services at the branch location.
      The robbery squad is asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS (8477). All calls will remain anonymous.