‘We take violent crime very seriously’: Anchorage FBI looking for suspect in bank robbery attempt
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Bundled up for cold temperatures and wearing a white mask almost to her eyes, an unidentified woman gave a note demanding money from a bank employee at the First National Bank Alaska branch on West Northern Lights Boulevard.
Now, the FBI wants to find her.
“We take violent crime very seriously here at the FBI,” Zachary Pomerantz, an assistant special agent in charge with the FBI office in Anchorage, told Alaska’s News Source on Monday.
According to the FBI office in Anchorage, the attempted bank robbery happened last Thursday around 5:30 p.m.
Officials say the woman gave the note to an employee and then verbally demanded money.
“The unknown suspect then grabbed the note from the employee and fled from the area on a bicycle,” FBI officials wrote in an email.
The FBI says no money was taken.
The suspect is described as a woman about 5 feet tall. At the time of the robbery attempt, she wore a dark-colored cold-weather coat with FedEx emblazoned on the back. She also wore heavy gloves and a face mask.
“She was wearing a FedEx jacket but we don’t have any information indicating there’s an affiliation,” Pomerantz said.
The most recent FBI data from 2022 reveals that more than 1,700 banks or armored carrier trucks were robbed within the U.S. that year, that men rob banks at a much higher rate than women, and a demand note is used in more than 1,000 bank robberies.
According to FBI data listed online in 2022, by geographic region, the Pacific states of California (172 robberies), Oregon (28), and Washington (45) have more bank robberies than Alaska (5) or Hawaii (1).
In 1934, it became a federal crime to rob any national bank or state member bank of the Federal Reserve System. The law soon expanded to include bank burglary, larceny, and similar crimes, with jurisdiction delegated to the FBI.
The FBI asks that anyone with any information about Thrusday’s attempted bank robbery please contact the FBI Anchorage Field Office. You can do that by dialing (907) 276-4441 or by submitting tips online at tips.fbi.gov.
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