NATCHEZ — A masked man who entered a U.S. 61 North bank Monday claiming to have a gun made news Natchez hasn’t experienced in nearly 20 years.

Shortly after 3 p.m., the suspect entered the Britton & Koontz Bank lobby on U.S. 61 North and demanded money from the tellers, Natchez Police Chief Mike Mullins said.

While robbing the bank, the robber knocked down a customer and said he had a gun, but never showed a weapon, Mullins said.

The suspect left the bank with an undisclosed amount of money and fled on foot behind the Adams County Health Department, where police officials believe he was driven from the scene in a light blue Mercury Topaz or Ford Taurus headed toward U.S. 61 North or the Morgantown Road area.

“We’ve got everyone out looking for this car,” Mullins said.

No tag number was available, and the robber’s face and hands were covered, making it difficult to get a detailed description, Mullins said.

“(In cases like this) we interview customers, employees and witnesses outside of the bank,” Mullins said.

B&K Bank President Page Ogden could not be reached for comment.

No one was hurt in the robbery.

Mullins said law enforcement received a 911 call and an alarm notification of the robbery from the bank.

It was the first bank robbery in Natchez since 1991, Mullins said.

Natchez did see an attempted armed robbery at an ATM outside the Main Street branch of B&K in 2002.

Surrounding areas, including Fayette, Woodville and Bude have battled occasional bank robberies in the last decade.

The FBI has been notified of Monday’s robbery, Mullins said.