The RBC Centura bank on Ga. Highway 314 north across from the Fayette Pavilion in Fayetteville was robbed at gunpoint around 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2 according to reports on police radio.

The suspect was initially described as a black male wearing a long white sleeve shirt, blue jeans, braided hair and with a fake beard that appeared to be drawn on with some type of makeup. It was speculated that the hair possibly could have been a wig.

A later report indicated that a neighbor spotted the suspect wearing a red T-shirt and running while holding a gun. Another person in the area confirmed that a man believed to be the suspect ran through a backyard of the adjacent neighborhood.

The initial report to police was that the subject had what was possibly a machine gun and got away on foot from the bank. A Fayetteville K-9 unit briefly tracked a scent from the bank but it ended in a nearby cul-de-sac. Other K-9 units were deployed in the search.

Numerous marked and unmarked units from the Fayettteville Police and Fayette County Sheriff's departments rushed to the area to assist in the search for the suspect. Because the sheriff's helicopter was unavailable the Clayton County police department's helicopter was employed in the search.

By 6:30 p.m. neighbors and businesses in the area received an automated phone call with a description of the suspect and a request to contact police if any suspicious activity is spotted.