Two bank robbery suspects, including one dressed in a green leprechaun costume, have been shot dead after a St Patrick's Day chase and shootout with police in Tennessee.

A police spokesman said First State Bank in the Nashville suburb of Gallatin was held up by a costumed man carrying a large gun yesterday afternoon. The man fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash and jumped into a waiting car driven by the other man.

The police spokesman said the suspects fired at police during a car chase. At least one shot hit a police car, causing it to stop.

The two fugitives then ran into a field and were killed during a shootout with officers.

The stolen money was recovered from the getaway car.

Police said no one else was hurt.

Sharon Riehemann, manager of the Fifth Third Bank next door, said she saw a man in a green top hat, vest and shorts and a fake beard run away from First State Bank with a blue bag in his hands. She said he had just been in her bank but left without speaking.



"He started to come in, then looked at his watch, then turned around and left," she said. He walked toward the other bank, and then a couple of minutes later he ran out of the bank with a blue bag in his hands, Ms Riehemann said.

Police are still trying to identify the two men. The officers involved in the shooting are on administrative duty while the investigation continues.

Last December, a man wearing a Santa Claus suit - including hat, beard and moustache - held up a SunTrust Bank in Nashville, demanding money from the teller at gunpoint. No arrests were made in that case.

AP