Two U.S. Bank employees killed in Kentucky robbery, suspect at large

A routine bank visit on Chestnut Street turned deadly when gunfire inside the U.S. Bank in Berea left two employees, a man and a woman, dead and sent police racing into a search that was still underway.

Kentucky State Police said the robbery and shooting happened around 2 p.m. Thursday, April 30, 2026, inside the branch in Madison County, about 36 to 40 miles south of Lexington. Customers were inside the bank at the time. The suspect remained at large and was considered armed and dangerous.

Authorities described the suspect as about 6 feet 3 inches tall and said he was wearing a light-colored hoodie, dark gloves, gray pants and light-colored athletic shoes. Other reports said he also wore a mask. Kentucky State Police released a photo and asked anyone with information to call 859-623-2404 or contact local law enforcement, stressing that no one should approach the suspect.

Madison County Coroner Jimmy Cornelison said the two people who died were a man and a woman. State police spokesperson Trooper Scottie Pennington said investigators had some leads and were working to bring the suspect to justice. The response drew local and state police, along with the FBI and other federal agencies, as authorities tried to lock down the area and push the search outward from the bank.

The violence briefly disrupted nearby Berea College, where campus officials placed the school on lockdown during the manhunt and kept students from leaving on buses until they determined the campus was safe. In a town where a daytime stop at a bank is supposed to be ordinary and secure, the shooting forced a swift, wide response that spread from a single storefront to an entire community.

U.S. Bank said it was working closely with law enforcement and was deeply saddened by the deaths of two employees at its Berea branch. The bank said its thoughts were with the victims’ families, colleagues and the Berea community. The victims’ names had not been released.