An 18-year-old is facing federal charges after two employees were shot and killed this week during a bank robbery in Kentucky, authorities said Friday.
Brailen Weaver was charged with armed bank robbery, use of a firearm in a crime of violence and causing death with a firearm, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Kentucky announced.
Weaver allegedly entered a U.S. Bank in Berea, about 36 miles south of Lexington, on Thursday and shot and killed a man and a woman, both employees at the bank, police said. Their names were not immediately released. Weaver then allegedly checked multiple drawers in the bank and immediately left, authorities said. It's unclear if he left the bank with anything.
Weaver was captured at 3 a.m. Friday after law enforcement attempted to stop his vehicle, leading to a pursuit that exceeded 100 mph, authorities said. Weaver ultimately crashed his car and then fled on foot.
"As alleged, this deplorable act of violence in broad daylight has left two families in Kentucky with unthinkable loss. Our hearts go out to them," acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said Friday he would pursue state murder charges for the deadly shooting.
"This is a terrible day for Berea," Trooper Scottie Pennington, a Kentucky State Police spokesperson, said during a news briefing. "They're our people that work in our community, and they're no longer with us."
Local and state police responded along with the FBI and other federal agencies.
Law enforcement officials went door to door in search of information and surveillance video, as well as using helicopters, drones and dogs. The Lexington Police Department and county sheriff's offices took part in the search, along with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Nearby schools were briefly placed on lockdown until officials determined the campuses were safe. Students weren't allowed to leave on buses and instead had to be picked up by their parents, Pennington said.
U.S. Bank told The Associated Press in a statement that it was working closely with law enforcement and committed to supporting the victims' families and bank colleagues.
"We're deeply saddened by the tragic event that took the lives of two of our employees at our Berea, Kentucky branch earlier today," the company said in a statement. "Our hearts go out to the families of the victims, our colleagues and the entire Berea community."
Weaver is scheduled to appear in court for his initial appearance on Monday in Lexington. The Associated Press reported that Rawl Kazee, a Lexington attorney identified in court records as representation for Weaver, did not immediately return a phone message Friday morning.
