Gunman Holds Elderly Woman Hostage

A gunman wearing a ski mask burst into a Burbank home early Saturday morning, then held an elderly woman hostage as her husband was sent to withdraw money from two banks, authorities said.

At about 5 a.m., a telephone caller who identified himself as a Los Angeles Police Department officer told the couple to check their car’s license plates, said Sgt. Scott Wilson of the Burbank Police Department.

When the elderly man did so, the masked man burst into the house gripping a handgun, Wilson said. The man then rifled the couple’s belongings in a search for financial records, Wilson said.

After finding bank books, Wilson said, the gunman waited until banks opened at 9 a.m. to send the male homeowner to withdraw cash from two institutions.

At the first bank, the man told a teller that his wife was being held hostage and that he was headed for another bank, authorities said. Police met the man at the second bank.

Officers sent to the couple’s home found the man’s wife unharmed in a locked closet, Wilson said. No money was taken from the home, police said.

Police are searching for the suspect, who they described as 6 feet tall and 180 to 200 pounds. Police said he might have had an accomplice.