'Black Hat Bandits' rob Falls Church bank; 8th robbery this year
The bank robbery suspects known as the "Black Hat Bandits" have struck again as they robbed a bank in Falls Church on Monday.
It is the eighth bank robbery these suspects are believed to be responsible for in Virginia and Maryland this year.
The FBI says Monday's bank robbery occurred at around 12:44 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Bank at 1000 W. Broad Street in Falls Church. Investigators say this was a three-person group -- with two suspects going into the bank for the money while another person waited outside in the getaway vehicle.
Witnesses say the suspects left behind footprints in the snow and dropped ink pads from some of the bags filled money before getting away in the vehicle.
Two of the suspects who entered the bank were armed and dressed in all black, and were wearing ski masks to cover their faces. They are described males in their early 40s and are between 5'7" and 5'9."
No one was injured in Monday's incident.
The FBI are warning that these suspects are very dangerous and have jumped over counters to get to bank vaults, threatened customers and employees and even held a gun to someone's head.
Surveillance images taken of the suspects in action have seen these suspects wearing fake beards, ski masks, sunglasses and the infamous black hats.
Since January 2, the Black Hat Bandits have robbed eight banks -- six in Virginia and two in Maryland:
- Jan. 2, 2015: Bank of America in McLean, Va.
- Jan. 16, 2015: BB&T in Fairfax, Va.
- Jan. 20, 2015: Bank of America in Vienna, Va.
- Jan. 30, 2015: Essex Bank in Arnold, Md.
- Feb. 5, 2015: SunTrust Bank in Waldorf, Md.
- Feb. 18, 2015: BB&T in Vienna, Va.
- Feb. 18, 2015: Wells Fargo in Sterling, Va.
- March 2, 2015: Wells Fargo in Falls Church, Va.
The FBI is also offering a reward of up to $30,000 for information that leads to the identification, arrest and conviction of these suspects.
If you have any information about these suspects or the vehicle they may have used, you are asked to call the FBI at 202-278-2000 or 410-265-8080. You can also submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.