Crime & Safety

Robbers Fire a Shot During Bank Heist

The afternoon holdup may be tied to morning robbery in Salinas, police say.

Armed robbers let off one round as they fled a Freedom Boulevard bank with an undisclosed amount of cash Friday afternoon.

The bank heist, at a busy branch in the Freedom Centre, happened around 1:15 p.m. and may be connected to a robbery earlier Friday at a Rabobank in Salinas, according to Watsonville police Sgt. Saul Gonzalez.

In Watsonville, the robbers wore hooded sweatshirts and covered their faces with bandannas. One was armed with a small-caliber handgun, police said.

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Frantic people inside the bank called 911 reporting the robbery. Five employees and 10 customers were in the bank, located in a popular shopping center, when the robbery happened, police said.

The robbers ordered everyone to the floor, demanded cash from a teller and got a stack of money.

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As the robbers ran out, the one with the gun fired a single shot into the floor. No one was hurt, Gonzalez said.

The robbers fled in a black Nissan with tinted windows and no front license plate. They may have had a get-away driver, Gonzalez said.

The robbery is similar to one around 9:20 a.m. Friday in Salinas, but the get-away vehicle in that heist was gold-colored, police said.

“We're looking into that, seeing if they're the same,” Gonzalez said.

There was little description of the robbers. Gonzalez said one was taller and the shorter one was chubbier than his accomplice.

Police also are comparing Friday’s holdup to .

Wells Fargo on Freedom Boulevard was robbed in December, and a Rabobank branch on Main Street was held up in January. Both heists involved two robbers and guns. No arrests were made.

Watsonville detectives are working with Salinas police and the FBI on the investigation.


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