Man shot to death, another wounded in credit union robbery

WEBSTER, N.Y. -- A man posing as an FBI agent tried to rob a credit union at a sprawling Xerox complex Tuesday, fatally shooting one bank customer and wounding another before he fled, authorities said. Both victims were identified as Xerox employees.

A surveillance tape showed the robber carrying a sawed-off shotgun and handgun and wearing a wig and a bulletproof vest with the initials FBI, Webster police chief Gerald Pickering said. The robber also had a law enforcement badge, Pickering said.

"It looks like the guy was trying to look like a law enforcement agent coming into the bank and I'm sure that all played into the part of the robbery attempt," Pickering said.

The man entered the credit union around 9:30 a.m., demanded money and shot and killed a Xerox worker who was waiting to be served, Pickering said.

A second customer was hospitalized with a shoulder wound, he said.

Company officials identified the slain employee as Raymond Batzel, a machine operator, and the wounded one as Joseph Doud, a software development design engineer.

A spokeswoman at Strong Memorial Hospital said Doud was in satisfactory condition Tuesday night.

About four customers were in the bank during the shooting. The FBI declined to say whether the robber made off with any money.

FBI spokesman Paul Moskal said he believed no legitimate FBI employees were involved in the shooting. The agency was one of several responding to the incident.

The manufacturing center in upstate New York was locked down as authorities hunted for the robber.

"There is a stepped-up state of security on campus," said Xerox spokesman Bill McKee. "Employees have been moved to what we call safe zones within the campus."

Police set up a number of roadblocks around the complex, said Debbie Licata, a records clerk for the Webster police. Police also were using dogs to search nearby woods.

The 1,000-acre Xerox campus, a center for engineering and manufacturing, employed 8,000 people as recently as 2001.