Suspected Bank Robber Shot Outside Penn Station

A suspected bank robber -- a man who was just released from jail the day before -- has been shot and wounded by police outside of Penn Station, one of the city's busiest areas.

Cops said the knife-wielding man had just robbed a branch of Chase Manhattan Bank located right next to entrances to Madison Square Garden.

When came outside, he was shot once in the leg by an officer, who just happened to be in front of Penn Station at 2 Penn Plaza, police said.

The shooting happened away from the hubbub of the area, down the block in a less-heavily trafficked area in front of an Amtrak loading dock.

Manhattanite Ethan Harp says he saw the whole thing. The freelance journalist says, "the officer seemed very calm."

Police say the man, John Daniel Stolarz, 69, was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was conscious and speaking to doctors.

Officials said Stolarz had just been released from Fairton federal prison in New Jersey on Wednesday after serving 21 years for armed bank robberies in Utah, Louisiana, Washington State and Nevada.

Law-enforcement sources said Stolarz had just bought the knife from K-Mart with the intention to rob a bank.

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