The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office confirms it is assisting the FBI with a search for suspects west of I-95
The FBI said it is working an investigation in the general area west of the interstate and Palm Beach Lakes Blvd.
PBSO deputies were seen canvassing an active perimeter near Military Trail on Community Drive. A homeowner on Community Drive said he called 911 when his wife saw a man running through their yard and jumping fences behind homes. Deputies in tactical gear went house to house with a K-9.
Shortly before that 911 call, an employee at a business center at 4711 N Australian Avenue said she called 911 after witnessing a man beat an employee at a neighboring business.
"I saw the guy just keep hitting my neighbor over and over again with the sledgehammer trying to get the bag he was holding," said the woman who wanted to remain anonymous out of fear for her safety.
The witness said she arrived to work Tuesday morning and noticed a man in a hoodie hanging out around the businesses. Then 20 to 30 minutes after the usual armored car delivery to the business, she saw him approach an employee leaving with a bag in his hand.
"That's when I saw the gentlemen who was on the bench this morning that I parked in front of, coming running over with a sledgehammer hitting the guy in his back," she said.
The witness said the suspect took the bag and jumped in a black truck and took off. Minutes later, PBSO deputies were near Military Trail. Keiser University was on a brief lockdown during the law enforcement activity in the area, but the lockdown was lifted shortly before 11 a.m.
A homeowner in the area of Community Drive said he called 911 when his wife saw a suspicious man racing through their yard.
"He was in the back of our yard, that's all fenced off back there. He jumped one fence, jumped the next fence, kept going east," said the homeowner who did not want his identity revealed. "We didn't see any guns or anything, it scared my wife."
