The 1st Source Bank on the corner of Mishawaka Avenue and 26th Street is no stranger to crime.
It was robbed twice on Tuesday – in just four hours.
It was robbed four times in 2010.
1st Source isn't the only bank on Mishawaka Avenue. There is a Wells Fargo and a Mutual Bank, all within a mile of each other on the same street.
Those banks have not been robbed in the past two years.
South Bend police say, as far as they recall, they have never had the same bank robbed more than once in one day.
"Must have got hit again," said William Haase Jr. of South Bend as he looked over to the 1st Source branch on Tuesday.
"I figured there was one, because there were police officers walking around," Haase said.
Not one, but two robberies in the same day at the bank. And Haase, is not fazed by any of it.
"Doesn’t bother me," he said.
For 24 years, Haase has lived just a few feet away from the bank.
"I don't understand, there has to be some way to protect the bank better than it is," he said.
Police are facing the same struggle. Why is this 1st Source branch such a popular target?
"This is so embedded in a neighborhood,” said Captain Phil Trent with the South Bend Police Department, “you have quick access and you can make a quick getaway on foot. That’s just one theory, though."
A theory Haase has come to accept after the bank was hit four times last year. Police believe three of those four robberies were possibly by the same suspect.
"That’s not cool," said Jennifer Bowling of South Bend.
Some of the other neighbors are worried.
"It's kind of scary,” Bowling said. “We're in the same block, you know? My kids play out here and stuff."
Bowling is a newcomer to this neighborhood. She lives six houses down from the bank with her 6-year-old son.
This mom has never had a reason to doubt her family's safety, until now.
"I haven't really questioned it because I don't see anything like that around here, so I don't know what to say about that," Bowling said.
Police don't believe the robberies on Tuesday were related. They arrested two suspects from the first robbery. One of those suspects was carrying a knife.
The suspect from the second robbery hasn't been found. Police describe him as a black male, 5-foot 10-inches, average build, carrying a gun.
No one was hurt in either robbery.
If you have any information on this outstanding suspect, Police encourage you to call Michiana Crime Stoppers at 574-288-STOP (7867).
