MANHATTAN — Police are hunting a gun-wielding bank robber suspected of threatening customers while robbing a pair of Greenwich Village branches over the past three weeks, the NYPD said.
The suspect first struck an HSBC branch at 769 Broadway about 11:30 a.m. on Thurs., Jan 26, police said. In that incident, he showed bank tellers a black gun while threatening to harm patrons, before demanding cash and fleeing on foot with an undetermined amount of money, police said.
The next incident occurred on Tues., Feb. 14, about 11 a.m. at a Citibank branch at 555 LaGuardia Place, where the suspect also flashed a gun and threatended customers before fleeing with cash, police said.
The suspect is described as about 30 years old, standing 6 feet and weighing about 190 pounds, police said. He wore a black baseball hat, black ski jacket, black hooded sweatshirt, dark pants, dark shoes, and a gray and red knapsack during the incidents, police added.
The HSBC location was also the site of a foiled bank robbery in November 2010, when a police officer manning a nearby polling station spotted the robber after hearing word of the incident over his radio.
A few blocks away from both crime scenes, an identity-theft device attached to the door of the Bank of America at 184 Bleecker St. fell off in a woman's hand on Jan. 18, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577 TIPS (8477). The public can also submit tips by logging onto Crime Stoppers' website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting CRIMES (274637) and then entering TIP577.
