Police Respond To Bank Robbery In North Austin

NORTH AUSTIN, TEXAS — Police responded to a bank robbery in the northwest part of the city on Tuesday morning — the second such robbery in less than a week and the fifth one to occur in Austin so far this year.

Via Twitter, police said the incident took place at a Wells Fargo bank branch along the 10900 block of Research Boulevard. The call alerting police to the robbery came in just after 9 a.m., police said.

No further details were available as of 11:15 a.m. on Tuesday, including a description of the suspect. Given past protocol, police might provide further details in a subsequent police briefing. Patch will update this story should that occur.

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This is the fifth time so far this year that a bank has been robbed in Austin since Jan. 18. Several such heists have taken place in recent days, but police are unsure if the various incidents are related. Other recent bank robberies include:

• On Feb. 5, the Bank of America branch at 12574 Research Blvd. was hit just before 10 a.m. A police officer briefing reporters said the suspect — a white man standing at around five feet, ten inches tall last seen wearing a black jacket, white shirt and ball cap — entered the bank before demanding cash before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of money. The suspect fled on foot traveling southbound on Research Boulevard, police said. No weapon was displayed in the course of the robbery, the officer added.

• The city's first bank robbery of the year occurred on Jan. 18 at the Prosperity Bank branch at 11545 Research Blvd. last month just before 10:30 a.m. Briefing reporters, officer Destiny Silva said the suspect entered the bank, demanded money and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspect is described as a white, heavyset, middle-aged man who is bald, Silva said. He was last seen wearing a gray sweater with a white T-shirt underneath. The man fled on foot after securing the cash, observed heading northbound.
• Two hours later on the same day, the Wells Fargo Bank branch on 6501 Airport Blvd., also in North Austin, was robbed just before 1 p.m. There, a man entered the bank while demanding money before fleeing with an undisclosed amount of cash. The suspect in that incident is described as a white man with dark hair and receding hairline. The man was further described as being of medium build had sunglasses on top of his head at the time of the incident, Silva said, and was clad in a dark sweatshirt and blue jeans. The suspect fled on foot in a southbound routed.
• A mere week later, on Jan. 25, the Bank of America branch on the intersection of East 39th Street and Interstate 35 was robbed at around 4:30 p.m.. The suspect is said to have demanded cash from a teller before fleeing on foot headed westbound on 39th Street, Senior Police Officer Marcus Davis said in an impromptu press briefing. The suspect, who displayed a weapon, left with an undisclosed amount of cash. He was described as a Hispanic man in his 40s standing at five feet, two inches tall last seen wearing a black zip-up hoodie and jeans, Davis said.
• Another bank robbery also occurred on Dec. 18, 2018. In that incident, police received a call about the robbery at around 4:11 p.m. at the Compass Bank branch on 321 W. 6th St. Bank officials told police the suspect passed a note to the teller demanding money before leaving with an undisclosed amount of cash. No weapon was displayed, and no injuries were reported. The suspect was described as a white male estimated to be in his 20s. He was last seen wearing a light-colored hoodie and dark pants.

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