MARYSVILLE — It was all trick and no treat when an armed teenager robbed a bank Wednesday morning wearing a mask of Jigsaw, the main character from the “Saw” horror movies.
It ended with a 17-year-old surrendering to a SWAT team just before they would have burst into his Marysville home. Two nearby schools were on emergency lockdown for almost four hours while the drama played out.
“It’s rare that someone in their teens robs a bank at gunpoint,” said R.A. “Bob” Dolhanyk Jr., Marysville police spokesman. The boy was taken to Denney Juvenile Justice Center for investigation of first-degree robbery.
The teenager walked into the Wells Fargo branch at 10010 Shoultes Road about 10 a.m., wearing the $30 mask from the “Saw” horror movie series, Dolhanyk said. He showed a gun, ordered bank patrons to the ground and demanded tellers empty their tills, he said.
Loot in hand, the teen ran out of the bank and jumped on a bicycle. He rode the bike to a green sport utility vehicle parked nearby, then threw the bike in the back, Dolhanyk said.
Once behind the wheel, the teen hit the gas, speeding back to his home in the 10600 block of 52nd Avenue NE.
“He was whipping around the corner like a bat out of hell,” said Bill Nolan, 48, a siding contractor working in the neighborhood.
Moments later, Nolan and his work partner pointed officers in the direction of the fleeing SUV. Dozens of Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies, Marysville and Arlington police swarmed the neighborhood, sealing it off for hours.
As a precaution, Marysville-Pilchuck High School and Cascade Elementary School were locked down from about 10:30 a.m. until after 2 p.m.
Police with long-range rifles wearing helmets kept their sights pointed on the home. A sheriff’s SWAT team, its members dressed in camouflage, hurried into a V-100 armored personnel carrier as they prepared to storm the boy’s hiding place.
Before that could happen, it was over.
The teenager walked out of the house and gave himself up.
While bank robberies happen frequently, it’s unusual that an armed teenager is responsible.
FBI spokeswoman Robbie Burroughs, who has investigated bank robberies for a dozen years, said it was more than rare.
“Statistically speaking, it just doesn’t happen,” she said.
Marysville detectives obtained a search warrant to look for evidence in the teenager’s home, Dolhanyk said.
They found the “Saw” mask, a pellet gun and the bank’s money.
Snohomish County prosecutors likely will charge the teenager as an adult because of the severity of the crime.
Nolan, the contractor, said he hopes the teenager gets what he deserves.
“Hopefully, he’s going away for 20 years,” he said.
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