Wednesdays are the day for bank robberies in the Castro, it seems, as the past two hump days have brought bank branch robberies in the area.
Yesterday, we received a tip about a possible bank robbery going down on Market Street:
@HoodlineSF @Castro_Biscuit possible bank robbery at Bank of the West in the Castro. Police everywhere.
— Kenneth Ogle (@Lionsmaul) October 21, 2015This morning, SFPD confirmed that a bank on the 2200 block of Market Street was robbed yesterday. In their report, they noted that a man, 35, walked into the bank around 10:22am, handed a teller a note demanding money, and fled with the money in a bag in an unknown direction. No arrest has been made.
The SFPD would not confirm if the bank was Bank of the West, located at 2299 Market St., and we haven't received confirmation from their corporate office as to whether their branch was hit. The branch itself was able to confirm that they are operating on normal business hours today, however.
This robbery follows another bank hit in the neighborhood last week. On Wednesday, Oct. 14th at around 1:40pm, the U.S. Bank at 443 Castro St. was robbed in similar fashion, with the suspect, a man described as in his forties, giving the teller a note and making off with the cash.
It's unclear whether bank robberies in the area are becoming more frequent, or if the recent crimes are isolated incidents, but with its concentration of bank locations, the Castro could be a natural destination for thieves looking for fast cash.
