An armed man who was dressed as a construction worker robbed a bank in downtown Palo Alto late Friday afternoon, according to police.
Police received a call at about 5:26 p.m. from an employee at Comerica Bank at 250 Lytton Ave., reporting that a robbery had just occurred, police said in a news release. Officers responded but could not find the suspect.
Police said the man went into the bank when there were no customers inside, approached a teller – a woman in her 50s – and lifted his shirt to display a handgun tucked into his waistband. He demanded money and when the teller went to the back room, he jumped over the counter and took money from an open drawer, police said.
The man then reportedly fled on foot south on Ramona Street.
Police described the suspect as a white man in his 30s and at least 6 feet tall. He reportedly wore a bright orange sweatshirt, black jeans, a white construction helmet and sunglasses. Police said he also had a black T-shirt wrapped around his head under the helmet and facial hair on his chin.
Police said there have not been any other recent bank robberies in Palo Alto. Detectives are investigating whether the crime is connected to any others in the Bay Area, according to the news release.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the department’s 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the department’s free mobile app, downloadable at bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.
Tall thin white man in his 30s with facial hair. We’ll be on the lookout.
Perfect outfit for a PA robbery, almost as good as when someone dressed in neon bike spandex and a bike helmet robbed a bank on Sand Hill and then vanished into the horde of other neon-spandex-clad bike riders a few years back.
Among the great perks of the vibrancy Liz Kniss has brought to Palo Alto:frequent bank robberies, along with frequent muggings and the occasional sexual assault.
Which member of the Village People will be represented in the next PA bank robbery?