Police are continuing to hunt for an offender who brandished a firearm during the aggravated robbery of the BNZ bank in Mosgiel yesterday.
Armed police swarmed the area following the incident, which happened about 11.30am yesterday and left staff badly shaken.
The bank was closed for the rest of the day and police cordoned off the area while a scene examination was conducted.
A police spokeswoman said it appeared a man had entered the bank, presented what was believed to be a firearm at a teller and demanded money.
"He has left the scene in a dark coloured two door vehicle with a quantity of cash.''
The scene examination has since been completed, but police were continuing to speak to witnesses and review CCTV footage.
Support was also being provided to people in the bank at the time, the spokeswoman said.
Anyone who saw a vehicle fitting the description in the Mosgiel area around the time of the robbery was asked to contact Dunedin Police on (03) 471 4800.
Yesterday, a BNZ bank spokeswoman said staff involved were "safe'', but had been left "upset'' and "badly shaken'' by the incident.
Dunedin Kindergarten Association senior teacher Christine Kerr said the Mosgiel Central Kindergarten was locked down for a short time because it was next door to the bank.
The children were allowed to continue playing indoors and were "blissfully unaware'' of the drama, she said.
Visique Peter Dick Optometrist receptionist Jill Obeek was across the street, but said the attempted robbery was all over by the time she noticed something was happening.
"The first thing I noticed was a policeman walking down the street and I thought, `oh, has he got a gun?' and then I thought, 'no, it can't be'. I looked up a couple of times and saw police in the bank and I just thought they were doing their banking.''
Campbell and Sons funeral director Cam Weston said he was holding a funeral in Gordon Rd at the time.
"One of our staff got a text to say don't go on Gordon Rd because the police said there was an armed person there.
"So we asked everybody not to move until we had clarified the situation with the police.''
It is not the first time the bank has been targeted by a robber.
It was robbed in 2007 and 2008. No weapons were involved in those incidents.
