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Bank Robber Pretends to Hold Gun to Security Guard's Back, Police Say

By Maya Rajamani | September 2, 2016 2:06pm
 Police are searching for a thief who forced a security guard to a bank’s teller window before fleeing with cash handed to him by the teller, the NYPD said.
Santander Bank Robbery
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MIDTOWN — A bank robber pretended to hold a gun to a security guard's back and forced him to a teller's window before making off with cash, the NYPD said.

The suspect went into the Santander Bank at 864 Eighth Ave., at the corner of West 52nd Street, around 6:50 p.m. on Thursday, bluffed holding a firearm to the guard's back and then led him to the teller, police said.

At the window, the robber demanded money from the teller, who handed him an unspecified amount of cash, the NYPD said. No one was injured.

After fleeing the bank, he headed south on Eighth Avenue before turning left on West 51st Street, police said. He also switched clothes after the robbery, shedding his black jacket, hoodie, gray sweatpants for a white T-shirt with "USA" on the front and blue jean shorts. 

Surveillance images from a business on West 51st Street show him wearing the second outfit.

The suspected was described as in his late 40s, standing approximately 5-foot-7, with gray and black hair and a scruffy gray and black beard, police said.

A manager at the Santander Bank declined to comment on Friday.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit tips on the website.