Police Responding to State Street Bank Robbery

While Santa Barbara police officers were responding to calls of a fight that broke out between two or three people in the 3700 block of State Street, an alarm company reported a bank robbery at the neighboring Bank of America at 3790 State Street at 1:11 p.m. this afternoon.

Details remain sketchy, but it is believed that one of the participants in the fight was also a suspect in the robbery. The suspect is described as a 5’ 8’’ Hispanic male, heavy build, wearing camouflage pants and a blue windbreaker. His hands were also reportedly covered in red dye, evidently from an exploding dye pack that was placed within the stolen money. The suspected thief got away on foot, as he cut through the back parking lot of the bank and up a creek bed adjacent to Hope Avenue.

Police have surrounded the area hoping to locate and stop the suspect, and have called in an air unit to aid in the search. The FBI has been notified as well. As the robbery is in the initial phases of investigation, it is unknown if the suspect was armed at the time; however, more information will be released as events unfold.