To Wolf's Howl, Armed Men Rob Bank
San Diego (United States):
Three armed robbers – including one who howled like a wolf – burst into the Washington Mutual bank branch in the Midway District an hour after it opened Tuesday morning, spraying gunfire at nearby vehicles as they got away with an unknown amount of cash.
No one was hurt, but one woman had the tires on her SUV shot out by the gunmen. Reports that the woman had been trying to follow the robbers could not be immediately confirmed.
The incident began shortly after 10 a.m. at the Washington Mutual branch located on the grounds of the Point Loma Plaza shopping mall, on Midway Drive near Kemper Street.
One of the customers inside the bank said the gunmen, wearing gloves and armed with silver-colored handguns, ordered the bank's customers to lie on the floor. Two of them then jumped the counter, demanding cash from the tellers.
"It was quick," he said. "The whole thing happened in about a minute and a half."
The third robber stood watch at the door, the witness said, urging his partners to hurry up.
"He kept saying, 'We gotta go, we gotta go!' " the witness said. "Then he started doing this weird howling, like an alarm howl."
Moments later, the three ran from the bank up Kemper Street one block to Kenyon Street, where they jumped into what witnesses described as a red Ford Explorer – but not before one of the robbers fired five rounds from a 9 mm pistol, said police Detective Gary Hassen.
Two parked vehicles were hit by gunfire, as was the SUV.
"They may have thought they were being followed," Hassen said.
A woman around the corner on Kenyon witnessed the shooting.
"I saw two guys running diagonally across Kenyon from Kemper," she said. "I thought they were chasing each other. Next thing you know, you hear POP-POP-POP-POP-POP!"
Investigators weren't sure whether the robbers had struck other banks, but said the way they conducted Tuesday's hold-up suggested a definite level of sophistication.
"Obviously, they were rehearsed," Hassen said. "They knew what they were doing."
(To protect their safety, the names of witnesses interviewed for this story are not being used.)
Sept 27, 2005
Gregory Alan Gross, Union-Tribune Breaking News Team
San Diego Union Tribune, United States
San Diego (United States):Three armed robbers – including one who howled like a wolf – burst into the Washington Mutual bank branch in the Midway District an hour after it opened Tuesday morning, spraying gunfire at nearby vehicles as they got away with an unknown amount of cash.
No one was hurt, but one woman had the tires on her SUV shot out by the gunmen. Reports that the woman had been trying to follow the robbers could not be immediately confirmed.
The incident began shortly after 10 a.m. at the Washington Mutual branch located on the grounds of the Point Loma Plaza shopping mall, on Midway Drive near Kemper Street.
One of the customers inside the bank said the gunmen, wearing gloves and armed with silver-colored handguns, ordered the bank's customers to lie on the floor. Two of them then jumped the counter, demanding cash from the tellers.
"It was quick," he said. "The whole thing happened in about a minute and a half."
The third robber stood watch at the door, the witness said, urging his partners to hurry up.
"He kept saying, 'We gotta go, we gotta go!' " the witness said. "Then he started doing this weird howling, like an alarm howl."
Moments later, the three ran from the bank up Kemper Street one block to Kenyon Street, where they jumped into what witnesses described as a red Ford Explorer – but not before one of the robbers fired five rounds from a 9 mm pistol, said police Detective Gary Hassen.
Two parked vehicles were hit by gunfire, as was the SUV.
"They may have thought they were being followed," Hassen said.
A woman around the corner on Kenyon witnessed the shooting.
"I saw two guys running diagonally across Kenyon from Kemper," she said. "I thought they were chasing each other. Next thing you know, you hear POP-POP-POP-POP-POP!"
Investigators weren't sure whether the robbers had struck other banks, but said the way they conducted Tuesday's hold-up suggested a definite level of sophistication.
"Obviously, they were rehearsed," Hassen said. "They knew what they were doing."
(To protect their safety, the names of witnesses interviewed for this story are not being used.)
Sept 27, 2005
Gregory Alan Gross, Union-Tribune Breaking News Team
San Diego Union Tribune, United States
