An American Savings Bank branch at 3265 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles was robbed by armed men Monday, July 2, 2007. The robbery occurred around 9:00 o’clock in the morning while two tellers were busy serving the bank’s Monday morning clients. According to the lone guard who was on duty during the incident, a long-haired white man with dark glasses and dressed in business suit approached him upon entering the door and suddenly brought out a gun, disarmed him and forced him to lie face down on the floor.
A bank client said that three more men in ski masks armed with handguns instantly followed the first man and announced the hold up. One of them approached the tellers and gathered their cash while the other two divested the bank clients and the rest of the employees of their cash and valuables. Witnesses said that the robbery, which was carried out in less than ten minutes, appeared to have been executed with military precision. This led police to believe that an experienced bank robbery gang was responsible.
The robbers were seen escaping from the scene of the crime aboard a waiting black car, suggesting the involvement of a fifth man who could have acted as lookout and driver of their getaway vehicle. No one was reported hurt in the robbery. Responding police officers who arrived on the scene several minutes after the robbery would not say how much money was taken pending official announcement from bank officials. They, however, confirmed reports that a similar bank robbery took place in another part of Los Angeles more than a week ago.
Owing to this incident, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) already alerted every bank found in the Los Angeles area to step up their security precautions. LAPD Chief William J. Bratton, for his part, promised to fully utilize his “9,500 officers and 3,000 civilian” employees just to get rid of this gang of bank robbers which has already victimized two banks in Los Angeles. (Wikipedia, 2007)
Reference
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2007). Los Angeles Police Department. Retrieved July 6, 2007, from: http://pagebang.com/cgi/nph-proxy.cgi/111011A/http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Police_Department