Police believe Wednesday afternoon's armed robbery of the Radio Shack on Harlem Avenue could be connected with a similar robbery in Frankfort last week.

A suspect in the robbery was peacefully taken into custody today by Oak Lawn police after he fled Palos Heights Wednesday, police said. He is described as a male black, about 40 years old.

The suspect entered the Radio Shack at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, drew a handgun and demanded money from the two employees who were in the store, said Palos Heights Deputy Chief Dave Delaney.

One employee ran out the back door of the building but a second stayed behind, police said. The gunman ordered female employee who stayed behind to give him money. He suspect made off with an unknown amount of cash from the store. Nothing was taken from the employee and no one was hurt.

The gunman then apparently drove to Oak Lawn, police said. No one witnessed him get into a car but he reportedly ended up at an Oak Lawn Radio Shack location a little while later.

An emergency notification alert was sent out Wednesday afternoon by the Village of Oak Lawn, telling people to remain inside. The alert warned of a man in the area who was believed to have just committed a robbery.

Two nearby schools were locked down after the alert was issued.

Dozens of cops swarmed the Oak Lawn neighborhood near 96th Street and LaCross Avenue at around 3 p.m. Wednesday, looking for the suspect.

A rash of recent Radio Shack robberies had prompted Oak Lawn police to warn the location in their village at 4819 W. 95th St. When the suspect, who matched a description given by police, walked into the Oak Lawn Radio Shack, someone in the store called 911 and officers arrived shortly.

An Oak Lawn officer had chased the man to the 4800 block of West 96^th Street. The suspect forced his way into a rear stairwell, hid and started a standoff with police that would last for less than two hours.

“After an hour negotiating with one of our detectives, he threw his out his gun and came out and surrendered,” said Division Chief Michael Kaufmann of the Oak Lawn Police Department. “Nobody was harmed and nobody was hurt.”

Police are looking at a possible connection between the two incidents Wednesday and a Nov. 1 robbery of a Radio Shack in Frankfort, as well as other recent robberies in the area.

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Patch editors Lorraine Swanson and Anna Schier contributed to this report.