WAKEFIELD—Authorities are looking for two men who allegedly held up BB&T bank in Wakefield at 10 a.m. Thursday.

“We had two black males enter the bank; both of them brandished a firearm and demanded cash,” said Det. Derrick McKenzie with the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office.

The men then left the bank on Railroad Avenue with an undisclosed amount of cash. It’s believed they fled on foot, McKenzie said.

Bank employees set off the silent alarm as soon as the robbers walked in the bank, he said.

No one was hurt.

Both robbers are believed to be in their 20s and have 5-foot-9, slender builds, McKenzie said. One was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and the other a dark-colored sweatshirt. Both wore sunglasses.

The FBI in Richmond is involved with the investigation, and a $5,000 reward is offered.

During the search for the robbers, the sheriff ordered the lockdown of Tidewater Academy and Ellen W. Chambliss Elementary School to be on the safe side, McKenzie said.

Elliott Williams, owner of Antiques at Americana in Wakefield, was not in town at the time of the robbery but heard about it when he returned.

“I don’t have any real gossip, but I heard about it,” Williams said. “The place is full of cops.”

David White, vice president for corporate communications for BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C., referred questions to investigators.

“First and foremost, please understand that at BB&T we are committed to providing a safe and secure environment in which our clients can conduct their banking business,” White said. “We cannot comment on the security measures we employ as to do so would compromise the safety and the security of our clients and employees.”

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 434-246-5000.

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