East Village Robber Is Threatening Banks With Bombs, Police Say

EAST VILLAGE, NY — Police are searching for a robber who has been threatening Manhattan banks with bombs to steal thousands of dollars in cash, authorities said.

The man has robbed or tried to rob three banks between June and February, police said, all while wearing a floppy bucket hat. The man has passed bank tellers notes saying he had a bomb in his bag, but it's unclear whether he has actually been armed with explosives.

The man first threatened a teller at Santander Bank, 43 E. 8th Street, on June 9, police said. The man approached a bank window and passed the teller a note demanding money and stating that he had a bomb in his bag, police said. The teller handed over about $2,190 before the man ran away on foot, according to the NYPD.

In December, the man robbed another East Village bank, police said. Clad in his bucket hat, the man approached a teller window at Valley National Bank, 111 Fourth Ave., on Dec. 18, where he allegedly passed the teller a note demanding money and threatening the bank with a bomb. The teller handed over about $1,950 in cash before he ran away, police said.

The man tried again in February, when he went inside an HSBC Bank located at 143 Second Ave., police said. The man entered the bank on Feb. 2 and tried to hand a note to the teller, who refused to read it. The man ran from the bank empty handed, the NYPD said.

Police believe the man is about 45 years old.

Image credit: Courtesy of the NYPD