ZEBULON, N.C. — Federal officials have charged a man accused of robbing a bank in Zebulon and later opening fire on police officers in Rocky Mount earlier this week.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Sunday that Willie Edward McGee Jr. faces federal charges of bank robbery and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
Authorities said McGee was formally charged Saturday, one day after the alleged robbery at the First Citizens Bank on Wakelon Street. Investigators report that McGee handed a written note to a bank employee claiming he had an explosive device inside his semitruck.
Prosecutors stated that McGee left the bank with $3,234 in cash. The incident is also connected to a later confrontation in Rocky Mount, where police say shots were fired at officers.
The case remains under federal investigation.
