Cambridge Police Search for Suspect in Brattle Square Bank Robbery

The Cambridge Police Department, Massachusetts State Police, and FBI are investigating a Brattle Square bank robbery reported at 1:06 p.m. Wednesday.

The robbery took place at Webster Bank, according to eyewitness accounts on Twitter. The suspect passed a note to the teller requesting money, but did not appear to be in possession of a weapon, according to CPD spokesperson Jeremy Warnick.

The suspect — described by police as a Black male wearing a black jacket and dark pants, standing at approximately 5 feet, 10 inches — has not been identified by authorities, who requested to speak with anyone who may have information on his identity.

Shortly after the suspect left the bank, a red dye pack in the bag of money exploded, according to a photo shared on Twitter by Boston 25 journalist Jennifer Platt-Ure. The suspect then discarded the damaged $100 bills behind a dumpster on University Road, as seen in the photo. Investigators recovered these items from the scene as evidence, Warnick wrote.

Kristen M. Setera, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Boston division, confirmed that the Bureau’s Violent Crimes Task Force was assisting in the investigation.

This was the first reported bank robbery in Cambridge since December 2020, when the city was struck by a rash of four robberies — two of which took place in Harvard Square — in only three weeks. A Boston man was arrested in connection with one of the robberies last February. Prior to those incidents, Cambridge had not seen a bank robbery in over two years.

According to CPD’s monthly crime report, only one commercial robbery occurred last month, targeting a gas station on Memorial Drive. Eleven commercial robberies took place in Cambridge in all of 2021.

Officers searched the area in the hours following the robbery, according to Warnick. As of Wednesday night, police had not apprehended the suspect.

—Staff writer Sarah Girma can be reached at sarah.girma@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter at @SarahGirma_.

—Staff writer Brandon L. Kingdollar can be reached at brandon.kingdollar@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newskingdollar.