Bank Robbery: Man surrenders after 10 minutes

Ten minutes after a Westpac Bank teller was robbed, a man walked into the Rotorua police station and claimed to have committed the crime.
About 11am yesterday, a man who had waited in line at the Westpac Bank in Haupapa St approached a teller, saying he had a gun and demanding money.
The teller handed over a small amount of money and the offender left.
Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Loper of the Rotorua police said about 10 minutes later a man turned up at the city station and handed himself in.
An amount of cash was recovered and no firearm was found, Mr Loper said.
"The teller involved was shaken but not injured."
Bank staff at the branch declined to comment but a man who was in the bank at the time of the robbery told The Daily Post nothing "dramatic" happened during the incident.
The man, who did not want to be identified, said he didn't know anything had happened until customers were locked inside the bank and police arrived to interview them.
"It was very crowded at the time, the tellers were overloaded with customers," the man said.
"It was all very discreet, all we knew was that the bank suddenly closed. I didn't see anyone being arrested or police rushing about."
Police were still in the branch at about 11.30am collecting evidence while bystanders gathered outside.
Several people said they were shocked to see a sign on the door outside stating the branch was closed due to a robbery.
The sign referred people to the Westpac branch in Ngongotaha.
One woman said she regularly used the Haupapa St branch and was surprised to hear it had been robbed.
"I'm just pleased I was not in there at the time," she said. "I hope everyone is okay."
Other businesses in the area were oblivious to the bank incident.
Staff members at Cactus Jack's Backpackers and Knox Engravers said they did not hear or see anything out of the ordinary.
The bank remained closed for the afternoon.
One staff member came out of the bank about 12.25pm and told curious bystanders the man involved in the robbery had been caught by police.
"I'm glad he's been caught," one woman said.
"It's just crazy that this can happen.
"Bank robberies seem to be happening more and more often."
Just after midday, a car was towed from the bank's carpark but Mr Loper said the car was not connected to the robbery.
A man has been charged with aggravated robbery and is due to appear in the Rotorua District Court today.
- Additional reporting: Matthew Martin