ALHAMBRA, Calif., -- A bank robber demanding $50,000 took nine employees hostage when police surrounded the building Tuesday, but all the captives escaped -- most through bathroom windows -- and the man was forced to surrender.
The robber walked out of the bank and was quickly surrounded by SWAT officers who rushed him away in handcuffs. He had begun negotiating his surrender when he was left alone in the bank more than six hours into the siege, said Sgt. David Nater.
One male employee had walked out the front door, and four other men and four women escaped through bathroom windows.
“He was on the phone, kind of looked around, and realized he had no hostages,” Nater said.
The last employees escaped shortly before 4 p.m. while the robber spoke by telephone with negotiators. Others had escaped during the hours-long standoff.
The unidentified man was taken to a police station, but it was uncertain whether police or FBI would take custody of him. Investigators were checking a backpack or duffel bag he left behind to see whether a weapon or money had been stashed inside.
The man entered Cathay Bank on North Atlantic Avenue not long after the branch opened, told employees he was armed and demanded money. No customers were in the bank.
Bank employees gave him some money and then triggered a silent alarm. Several tellers also e-mailed colleagues at other branches, telling them a robbery was in progress, said Irwin Wong, the bank’s executive vice president.
Police surrounded the bank within minutes, trapping the robber inside, Nater said.
Nater said the employees in the bank were used as intermediaries to communicate with police by telephone and e-mail throughout the day.
In messages sent during the ordeal, the hostages reported that everyone remained calm, Wong said.
When asked what message he had for his employees during the standoff, Wong said, “Cooperate, be patient and they’ll all hopefully be out safe.”
A four-block area surrounding the bank, about 16 miles east of Los Angeles, was cordoned off. Residents and shopkeepers were evacuated, Nater said. The suspect also demanded a ban on news helicopters in the area.
An FBI special weapons and tactics team, as well as a SWAT team from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, assisted police.
Cathay Bank, founded in 1962, was the first Chinese-American-owned bank established in Southern California. It has 19 branches in the state.
Wong said the Alhambra branch did not employee a security guard.
“It frustrates me, but I don’t know what we can do. We’ve had banks with guards, they still get robbed,” Wong said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.