Two suburban Twin Cities banks were robbed about 75 minutes and 15 miles apart -- one by a suspect who said he had a bomb in a lunch box and the other by a different man who displayed a handgun in a plastic bag.
In each heist Monday morning, both men fled with the loot and remain at large, the FBI said.
According to the FBI:
The first holdup occurred about 10 a.m. at the M&I Bank branch at the corner of West 69th Street and France Avenue in Edina. The robber placed an insulated lunch box on the counter, told the teller there was a bomb inside and demanded money.
The suspect opened the lunch box and placed the money inside. At that moment, the teller spied brown paper and a wall switch in the lunch box.
The robber left the bank and was last seen getting in a white, four-door KIA Spectra and driving off. He is described as white, in his 20s or 30s, about 6 feet tall and roughly 185 pounds. He wore a green jacket with a logo on the left breast, dark pants and shoes, a wool cap and a scarf, and multicolored sunglasses.
Shortly before 11:15 a.m. in Savage, the Sterling Bank branch on Hwy. 13 in Savage was robbed by a masked man with a handgun in a clear plastic bag.
A bank manager and a teller were the only people in the bank at the time. The robber told the manager to sit down and demanded money from the teller. The suspect left on foot with the cash.
