Phoenix, Ariz.- Phoenix police and the U.S. Secret Service are investigating a bank robbery that occurred Tuesday at a U.S. Bank branch in Phoenix.
The FBI has confirmed this suspect is, in fact, the "Why So Serious Bandit" and he has been labeled a 'serial' bank robber who is wanted for five robberies, including two in Scottsdale.
The man walked in the Bell Road and 7th Street U.S. Bank Tuesday wearing a ski mask and demanded money from a teller before running off on foot.
A security guard managed to follow the man into a nearby neighborhood, but lost him. That is when police took over.
Officers armed with M4 rifles and joined by K9 teams set up a perimeter and searched the area for a couple of hours but did not find the suspect. The man got away with an undisclosed amount of money.
Neighbors were uneasy as helicopters hovered over the area.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever heard in this area them come over the loud speaker on a helicopter and say…’we’ve got you surrounded,’” said Mike Banks.
Phoenix police had Banks’ neighborhood covered Tuesday morning as they searched.
“But this is such a quiet, gated mature area that we live in,” said Banks. “It’s just surprising to have anything like this happen.”
The FBI has a squad locally working solely on apprehending the man.
The U.S. Bank branch has been robbed three times since October.
