Armed Robber in Spider-Man Mask Forces School Lockdowns

Schools in Simi Valley were locked down after the armed bank robbery at a Chase Bank branch in Simi Valley bank at 10 a.m.

An armed bank robber wearing a Spider-Man mask eluded a police dragnet that forced lockdowns at three Simi Valley schools and an order for residents to stay inside their homes, officials said.

Pinecrest School, Leaps & Bounds Academy and Simi Valley High School were locked down as a precaution while police searched for a man armed with a pistol and wearing a homemade Spider-Man mask, police said.

The lockdowns were lifted before noon after a search failed to find the robber. The FBI joined local police in the investigation.

The man, described as 5 foot 9, was wearing a red and blue hoody sweatshirt and carrying a black backpack with the image of the Tazmanian Devil. He was last seen wearing blue pants with a stripe down the outside legs and a red shirt or sweatshirt.

He was wanted in connection with a robbery at 10 a.m. at a Chase Bank in the 5100 block of Los Angeles Avenue.

He was last seen running northeast through the parking lot toward an Albertson’s market.

Police fanned out using a SWAT Team, dogs and a helicopter to search for the robber in the area of Los Angeles Avenue and the Ronald Reagan Freeway between Tapo Street and Stow Street.

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People were being asked to stay inside their homes during the search.

Parents of Pinecrest and Leaps & Bounds were being asked not to respond to the campuses until they received additional information on when and how to pick up their children.


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