A man armed with a handgun and with his face hidden by a plastic mask robbed a Herndon PNC Bank, Fairfax County police said.
Police said they did not have surveillance pictures of the Wednesday robbery, in which the man put the gun in the faces of two female tellers and demanded cash. The women complied and he quickly departed the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash. Outside, police said the suspect jumped into a newer-model, silver- or gray-colored Nissan sedan and drove away.
The suspect is in his 20s, police said. He’s about 5 feet 10 inches tall. He was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and had dark-colored pants. His face was covered with a clear plastic mask.
Last year, Virginia banks were a frequent target of robbers, with one being hit nearly every three days, according to FBI statistics released Monday.
Regional bank robberies by the numbers:
District: 2008, 31; 2007, 35; 2006, 37; 2005, 28
Maryland: 2008, 155; 2007, 161; 2006, 233; 2005, 225
Virginia: 2008, 101; 2007, 89; 2006, 192; 2005, 147
National bank robberies by the numbers:
Total robberies: 2008, 6,700; 2007, 5,933; 2006, 7,272; 2005, 6,957
Total cash stolen: 2008, $62 million; 2007, $73 million; 2006, $72 million; 2005, $64 million
Bank robberies climbed across Virginia from 2007 to 2008, according to the statistics.
Since 2005, the number of banks robbed had been dropping in the commonwealth, but last year they jumped from 89 in 2007 to 101 in 2008. In Maryland, bank robberies continued their rapid decline from a high of 233 in 2006 to 155 in 2008. The number of robberies in the District remained about steady in 2008 with 31, down from 35 in 2007.
The FBI did not release how much cash has been stolen across the region, but nationally bank robbers made off with nearly $62 million in 6,700 robberies in 2008. That’s about $10 million fewer dollars ripped off than were in the 5,933 robberies in 2007. Police are still searching for the robber in Wednesday’s heist. Anyone with information should call Fairfax County police at 703-691-2131 or Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS/8477. For more information about Washington area bank robberies visit bankbandits.org
