2 gunmen kidnap woman, rob East LA bank

EAST LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A Bank of America branch in East L.A. was robbed Wednesday by two gunmen who had kidnapped a woman in Huntington Park.

Authorities say the woman was taken to the bank in the 900 block of South Atlantic Boulevard with a device strapped to her stomach shortly after 8:30 a.m. According to investigators, the kidnapping victim is the bank manager, and she was abducted on Tuesday night and held overnight.

The suspects told her to go inside the bank and take money out of the vault. The woman followed their instruction, and then dumped the money outside the bank.

"While she was inside the bank, there were other employees present. She explained to them what was happened. She took the money out of the bank and threw it out the door to the bank robbers," said Capt. Mike Parker of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.

The suspects, who were wearing ski masks, took the money and fled with an undisclosed amount of money in a two-door car, possibly a white Kia. The bank manager was left wearing the device, prompting a bomb squad to respond. They were able to remove the device from the woman safely.

The bomb squad rendered the device safe using a remote-controlled robot and it was determined that it was not an explosive. Police say the suspects never entered the bank. The kidnapping victim is being interviewed by police and FBI agents.

Anyone with information is urged to call the sheriff's East L.A. Station at (323) 264-4151, or call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.

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