It was a violent start to the new year for employees of a District Wachovia bank.
On Jan. 6 around 11:05 a.m., two men brandishing semiautomatic handguns stormed into the Wachovia at 4302 Connecticut Ave. NW, the FBI said.
They ordered the employees to the back of the bank.
One of the gunmen, a black man weighing about 160 pounds and about 5 feet 7 inches tall, ordered several tellers to the bank’s cash vault through his black ski mask, the FBI said. He pistol-whipped one of the tellers several times in the head. The robber was wearing a black hooded coat and bluejeans.
Meanwhile, the second robber, a larger man, weighing between 220 and 240 pounds and standing about 5 feet 6 inches tall, put the employees who weren’t opening the vault in a back office and watched over them, the FBI said. He was wearing a black and gray hooded jacket, black pants and a black ski mask.
After the smaller robber filled a sack with an undisclosed amount of cash, the two departed through the bank’s back door.
FBI officials say it’s rare for bank robbers to target the cash vaults. Most robbers approach a teller with a note and take what they can from one drawer. Even those who come armed and take over the bank don’t always know to go after the more cash-laden vault, and simply swipe what they can from the drawers.
Last year, a man and a woman targeted independent bank branches in Northwest, taking what they could from the cash vaults. The man was arrested and court records show he stole more than $100,000. Without getting to the vault, robbers tend to get away with less than $10,000, authorities said.
Anyone with information should contact the FBI Washington Field Office at 202-278-2000 or the District of Columbia police at 800-673-277. For additional information on other bank robberies in the area visit bankbandits.org.
