A suspect dressed as a construction worker and armed with a gun tucked into his waistband robbed a downtown Palo Alto bank late this afternoon.
On Friday, April 13, 2018, at about 5:26 p.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a call from an employee at Comerica Bank at 250 Lytton Avenue saying that the bank had just been robbed by a suspect with a gun. Officers responded to the area immediately but could not locate the suspect.
The investigation revealed that the suspect, who was dressed like a construction worker, entered the bank when no customers were inside. He approached a teller, a woman in her fifties, and lifted his shirt to display a black semi-automatic handgun tucked into his waistband. He demanded money. When the teller went to a back room, the suspect jumped over the counter and took money from an open drawer. The suspect fled on foot southbound on Ramona Street.
The teller described the suspect as a tall (at least six feet) white male in his early thirties, wearing a bright orange sweatshirt, black jeans, a white construction helmet, and sunglasses. He had a black t-shirt wrapped around his head under the helmet. He had facial hair on his chin. A surveillance image of the suspect is attached to this release.
Detectives are actively investigating this incident. There have been no other recent bank robberies in Palo Alto. Detectives are looking to see if this crime may be connected to any others in the Bay Area.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to [email protected] or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through our free mobile app, downloadable at www.bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or www.bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.
