Robber Is Killed at Bank

As horrified customers looked on, a man who tried to rob a Ventura Boulevard bank with what he claimed was a bomb was shot and killed Thursday by security guards who opened fire on the would-be robber, Los Angeles police said.

No customers were hurt in the gunplay, but a bank teller fainted after the shooting stopped and was taken to a hospital for observation, LAPD Lt. Anthony Alba said.

In the wake of the shooting, police evacuated the Washington Mutual bank branch and cordoned off the surrounding area, giving bomb squad investigators space to work on a briefcase in which the holdup man had claimed to have a bomb, Alba said.

Traffic on busy Ventura Boulevard was disrupted for more than two hours until investigators could soak the briefcase with a water cannon and determine it did not contain an explosive device.

The holdup man, whose identity authorities declined to reveal, drove to the bank in a black Mercedes-Benz, police said. Clad in dark clothing and a baseball cap, police said, the man walked into the bank branch east of Reseda Boulevard just before 11 a.m.

About the same time, Perry Rumbos was standing in line waiting to withdraw money for a security deposit on an apartment in Encino.

“I saw a teller emptying money into a bag, which I thought was peculiar,” Rumbos said. “Then I heard, ‘Freeze!’ ”

Rumbos said he turned and saw a security guard with his gun drawn and aimed at the holdup man. When the man declared, “I have a bomb!” and started fumbling with his briefcase, the guard opened fire, Rumbos said.

Rumbos said the guard shot the man twice, but when he continued to reach for his briefcase after falling to the floor, the guard shot the man three more times. Rumbos said the robber appeared to be wearing makeup and a wig.

Alba said the guards, whom he declined to identify, were at the bank in connection with an internal probe, and were not there to protect against robberies. He said it was not immediately clear whether one or both of the guards had fired their weapons.

A police source said both guards are former law enforcement officers, one a retired LAPD detective, the other a retired detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Police and the FBI are continuing to investigate.

Rumbos said the robbery attempt made him think twice about his recent move from Pasadena.

“I lived in the Valley before,” he said. “The first day I moved back was when the earthquake struck. . . . I don’t know about living in the Valley.”