Photo by: Rick Danzl/The News-Gazette

Sgt. Thomas Frost stretches tape at Regions Bank on South State Street in Champaign Friday March 08, 2013.

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Updated 3:10 p.m. Friday.

CHAMPAIGN — A bank near downtown Champaign and a credit union on the west side of town were robbed Friday morning.

No injuries were reported in either robbery.

Champaign police were called to the Regions Bank at 111 S. State Street at 10:35 a.m. Spokeswoman Rene Dunn said a man came in to the bank, implied he had a gun and demanded money.

He left with an undisclosed amount and headed north toward University Avenue, Dunn said.

No injuries were reported, but a patron who had reportedly gone into labor was taken away by ambulance, Dunn said.

The robber was described as a black man, 22 or 23 years old, 5 feet 5 or 5 feet 6 inches tall, wearing a blue shirt, khaki pants or jeans and black gym shoes. He was wearing a black headband and a black hood and covered the lower part of his face during the robbery, she said. He was carrying a black bookbag, according to Dunn.

At 10:52 a.m. Friday, police were called to the Champaign County Schools Employee Credit Union, 1201 S. Mattis Ave.

In that robbery, according to Deputy Chief Troy Daniels, a man went into the bank with a silver handgun visible in his waistband and demanded money. He left the bank on foot heading north, but Daniels said he believes the man went to the west as soon as he was away from the bank property.

The robber in that case is described as a black man in his mid-30s, about 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 170 to 175 pounds and wearing all black clothing, including a black stocking cap, a black scarf or bandana around his neck, a black jacket and jeans and black shoes.

Dunn said police questioned an individual in that robbery, but the questioning did not result in an arrest, and police didn't hold that person.

"We did question a person of interest who was in the area at the time," she said.

Daniels said police don't know whether the two robberies were coordinated but are checking that possibility. 

He said schools in the vicinity of both robberies were locked down.

He also said police are looking at whether a call about a shooting in Garden Hills, made to police 10 minutes before the first robbery, may have been an attempt at diversion.

According to Dunn, police were called at 10:25 a.m. Friday to a report that someone had been shot at Summit Ridge and Hedge Road.

She said officers could not confirm that there had been any shooting. They could find no residents of the area who had heard shots, no shooting victim and "could not confirm that an actual shooting had occurred," she said.

Daniels said there was "no indication" that call was an attempt to divert police away from either robbery site, "but we're certainly looking" into that possibility.

Police ask anyone with information about either robbery to contact Crimestoppers, where they remain anonymous. 

Champaign County Crimestoppers offers a cash reward up to $1000 for any information that leads to an arrest. Information may be reported by calling 373-8477; anonymous web tip at:http://www.373tips.com or by texting the keyword CCTIP plus the information to CRIMES (274637).