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Gunman Surrenders After 6-Hour Corte Madera Bank Incident

Nine people briefly held hostage during afternoon/evening incident at Bank of America.

 

10:08 p.m. UPDATE: The gunman holed up inside the Corte Madera Bank of America for nearly six hours has come out and surrendered to law enforcement.

Twin Cities Police Authority Chief Todd Cusimano said the unnamed gunman is being held for a psychiatric review to determine whether he is a danger to himself or others before he is taken to jail. Cusimano said the man's name would be released if he is not held for further evaluations.

The gunman did receive his wish and his writings were faxed to Bank of America personnel, Cusimano said, and he was able to briefly talk to bank officials on the telephone about his concerns before agreeing to come out peacefully and bring the incident to an end.

The gunman laid his weapon down on a table and came out of the bank with his hands raised in the air before law enforcement personnel took him into custody. The weapon, police later said, turned out to be a pellet gun.

Roads around the area of the bank on Tamalpais Drive are due to reopen, police said, by around 11 p.m.

"I cannot say how proud I am of the mutual coordination this took," said Cusimano about the work with Twin Cities, San Rafael, Novato, Marin County law enforcement and the FBI. "We've done a great job with our support coming to a safe conclusion."

8:15 p.m. UPDATE: Interview With Hostage: A Tiburon man briefly held hostage during the ongoing incident at the Corte Madera Bank of America said the gunman never tried to harm anyone inside the bank.

D.J. Tilton said he was about two minutes away from finishing his banking transaction at about 4:20 p.m. when a man entered and began waving a gun in the air.

Tilton said the gunman seemed nervous and was not aiming the gun at anyone inside the bank.

"He was criticizing international banking systems," said Tilton. "He said banks are corrupt and those who control them are criminals."

The gunman told bank customers they could finish their transactions and leave if they wanted to, Tilton said, and one woman did just that. The gunman brought water along with him and offered some to the nine remaining hostages.

Tilton said everyone was released after less than 10 minutes.

Twin Cities Police Chief Todd Cusimano said the interior lights of the bank are going to be cut off soon and police are working to have the ability to watch the bank's internal security cameras so they can monitor the gunman's activities.

7:30 p.m. UPDATE: Police have indicated family of the man holed up inside the bank said he does have some psychological issues, but they cannot confirm whether been treated by a doctor for those troubles.

Three of the six people initially held hostage were Bank of America employees and six were customers, according to Todd Cusimano, Twin Cities police chief.

The first call about the incident came about 4:20 p.m. from a citizen outside the bank, police said. The doors to the bank were locked by the time police arrived.

Cusimano said police are prepared to wait, "as long as it takes," for the man to come out of the bank. He said the fact no hostages are involved makes it easier for police to just wait the man out.

He also said he is worried for the man's safety due to his apparent unstable mental condition and they do not want to see him harmed during this incident.

Although there are reports the man is armed, Cusimano said he is unable to confirm whether the man has a real or a toy weapon.

5:30 p.m. UPDATE: A gunman who initially was holding nine hostages inside the Bank of America branch in Corte Madera has released everyone but is still holed up inside the bank at this hour.

The 25-year-old Asian man from Corte Madera, whose name police have not yet released, entered the bank at 663 Tamalpais Drive around 4:30 p.m., according to Todd Cusimano, Twin Cities police chief.

Cusimano said nine bank employees and customers were briefly held hostage but the gunman let everyone leave the bank unharmed.

"We have been negotiating with him for the past hour and we hope to have him out soon," Cusimano told Patch editor Nicole Ely, who is reporting live from the scene.

"We are very relieved that everyone (who was held hostage) inside has exited safely," said Coleen Haggerty, a Bank of American media relations spokesperson.

The gunman is apparently upset about financial issues he is having, according to police. Cusimano said the man wants to write a letter to the CEO of Bank of America before he comes out.

There is no indication whether the man is a Bank of America customer, Cusimano said.

We will post more information on this story as it becomes available.

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Laura Dudnick

5:46 pm on Monday, March 14, 2011

Yikes, I hope no one gets hurt. Thanks for this story -- Corte Madera is my hometown, it's normally so peaceful.

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Dan Ross

5:55 pm on Monday, March 14, 2011

Patch editor Nicole Ely is at the scene, said the area is cordoned off with police tape, LOTS of people milling around. She will get us updates as the situation unfolds.

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Peter Chase

5:59 pm on Monday, March 14, 2011

Wow, just heard this story on KCBS. But THEY didn't have the info Patch has. What is this, the umpteenth bank robbery in CM?
Our hometown is getting to be a high crime area.

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Dan Ross

6:06 pm on Monday, March 14, 2011

Peter, this does not appear to be a robbery but a person upset for some reason with Bank of America ...

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Kelly Dunleavy O'Mara

7:14 pm on Monday, March 14, 2011

it's being reported elsewhere that he wanted to "change the capitalist structure of society?" true?

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Brent Ainsworth

6:29 pm on Monday, March 14, 2011

Great job on getting the photos so quick, Nicole!

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Brent Ainsworth

7:17 pm on Monday, March 14, 2011

Kelly, that is not something I heard on the scanner, but maybe somebody else did.

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Dan Ross

7:26 pm on Monday, March 14, 2011

That is not anything police chief Cusimano said to Nicole when she interviewed him earlier in this situation. It is hurry-up-and-wait mode out there now as darkness sets in.

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Georgia Gibbs

8:16 pm on Monday, March 14, 2011

The bank incident is awful but your reporting is great! Thank you.

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Dan Ross

8:24 pm on Monday, March 14, 2011

Thanks, Georgia, we are getting information to you just as soon as we have it and have verified its accuracy.

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Carlos Villatoro

9:35 pm on Monday, March 14, 2011

Awesome reporting guys! Go Nicole and Dan!

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Dan Ross

9:54 pm on Monday, March 14, 2011

Almost two hours with no action, police are staying true to their word that they will hang out as long as it takes to get him out

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Laura Dudnick

9:57 pm on Monday, March 14, 2011

Thanks so much for this fantastic coverage! I forwarded this link to my dad because he lives less than a mile away.

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Dan Ross

10:47 pm on Monday, March 14, 2011

Thanks, Laura, for the note. There should be an update to this late tomorrow morning.

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Brent Ainsworth

10:18 pm on Monday, March 14, 2011

Police radio reports say the gunman walked out of the bank and surrendered without incident at 10:08 p.m.

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Pat Ravasio

7:09 am on Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Great job reporting, all of you! I have lived here in Corte Madera for 20 years and we have never had good local news coverage, especially not in real time. And for the record, Corte Madera is still a peaceful, low crime community. Our banks and shopping centers do attract the bad guys and crazies every now and then, but this is still a great place to live!

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Dan Ross

5:59 pm on Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Thanks very much for the comment, Pat. What we did yesterday is something we can bring to the community on a regular basis. We would much rather be right on top of all the good news taking place, but we are right there no matter what is happening.

Carolyn Larson

8:40 am on Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Carolyn Larson

I witsh to echo all that Pat Ravasio has written and add that I truly believe Corte Madera will never become a high crime area, the reason being the extraorinary level of citizen input and concern regarding the quality of life in our community.

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Laura Dudnick

11:54 am on Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Pat & Carolyn - glad to hear Corte Madera is still considered a peaceful town. I worked at the Village when I was in high school and always felt comfortable walking to and from work, even at night. And I'm VERY glad this potentially violent situation ended calmly!

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Pat Ravasio

7:23 pm on Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Dan, your work was excellent. My husband Bob is on the Corte Madera Town Council and was getting regular updates in his role as Vice Mayor. But thanks to you guys, on Patch, I was way ahead of him in terms of knowing what was going on. (Nice to have the inside track!) I have been involved with the Town in various capacities for 20 years now. If you ever want to sit down and go over some of the challenges (and wonderful qualities) of our community, let me know. I am here to help and support your work.

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Dan Ross

3:17 pm on Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Thanks, Pat, we are definitely going to take you up on your offer. We have already used one of your questions for a Moms Talk feature and another for a general community conversation feature!

Pati

11:25 pm on Tuesday, March 15, 2011

I relied on your updates throughout this event on our street, as did my neighbors. Great job!

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