It could have happened here

When I heard the news of yesterday’s bank robbery in Readington, my first thought obviously was for the family of the FBI agent who was killed. But I also wondered about the Dayton bank robbery on March 16 — when I read about bank heists, or anything really, I always wonder whether they may be related to things happening in the four towns my papers cover.

Then came word — first off the record and then later on the record — that the Readington heist was indeed related to the March 16 robbery of the Bank of America branch on Summerfield Boulevard.

That robbery also turned violent, though the injuries were rather minor. But watching the news late last night and reading the reports in the various New Jersey dailies and online, I can only marvel at how lucky we turned out to be.

Yesterday’s robbery was the fifth — and possibly the 10th — in a string of heists that had grown more and more violent. The Dayton heist was not the first in which shots were fired, but it was the first in which there were injuries.

And while it appears that the FBI agent was killed by friendly fire, the trajectory of this robbery string makes me believe that the escalating violence was destined to result in a death sooner or later.

The best we can say about this is that it’s over. The final suspect was nabbed late Friday, meaning four men are in jail, charged in connection with the robbery spree.

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Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet