A man in a dark blue jacket and shorts, wearing a surgical mask, used a note to rob Mechanics Bank in downtown Berkeley late Monday morning, authorities report.
The robber was described as a white man in his 60s, about 5 feet 8 inches tall with a medium build, police said.
He entered Mechanics Bank, at 2301 Shattuck Ave. (at Bancroft Way), and demanded cash from the teller just before 11:50 a.m., said BPD spokesperson Officer Byron White.
After securing the cash, which he placed in an envelope and then a shopping bag, according to radio traffic reviewed by Berkeleyside, the man walked north on Shattuck Avenue on the west side of the street.
Police responded immediately but the man was already gone.
BPD has notified the FBI about the bank robbery.
Berkeley tends to have just a handful of bank robberies each year. Mechanics Bank has been a repeat target.
Berkeleyside updated this story shortly after publication with several additional details.
