Oakland bank robbed

An unidentified man robbed the Citizens Bank in central Oakland minutes before the close of business Monday afternoon, stealing an undisclosed amount of money before fleeing the scene.

According to a 911 dispatcher, police received a call from Citizens Bank to report the robbery at 4:48 p.m. on Sept. 28 to the Citizens Bank at 3718 Fifth Avenue. Both Pittsburgh police and Pitt police responded to the call. Pittsburgh Police Sergeant Brian Elledge, who was at the scene, said the bank was closed and would stay closed for the remainder of the day.

The man, who Elledge described as a black man in his mid-40s with some gray in his beard, entered the bank and stole an undisclosed amount of money before heading outbound on Fifth Avenue toward North Oakland and Shadyside.

A police detective with Pittsburgh Police at the scene who declined to give her name, said the man was carrying a weapon but never displayed it to the teller. According to another detective who declined to give his name, the teller left the scene after talking to police and was not available for comment.

Another Pittsburgh police sergeant, Michael Piscitelli, said police had reviewed surveillance video footage of the robbery and had obtained an image of the robber from the tape. Piscitelli said Pittsburgh police have begun looking for the robber.

According to Piscitelli, Citizens Bank is responsible for determining how much money the man stole and will likely not release the number to the public.

Shortly after 5 p.m., four Pittsburgh police units were searching for the unidentified man and two police units, one from Pittsburgh and one from Pitt, including a police sergeant from the robbery squad, were at the scene, according to Elledge.

None of the approximately 15 people who were waiting at the Port Authority bus stop outside of Citizens Bank shortly after 5 p.m. said they saw the man flee the scene.