74-year-old accused of robbing bank at gunpoint may have been victim of scam, US cops say

Employees said the woman came into the credit union and demanded money while showing a gun, police say. Authorities say they later found the woman at her home, along with the vehicle used in the robbery. — Designed by Freepik

A 74-year-old woman was arrested after police say she robbed a bank in Pennsylvania at gunpoint.

The Fairfield Township Police Department asked for help identifying the woman in an April 19 Facebook post, saying she was wanted in connection with an armed robbery that same day.

Later that day, police released an update saying they located and arrested the woman, accused of robbing AurGroup Credit Union around 1.30pm.

Employees said the woman came into the credit union and demanded money while showing a gun, police say.

Authorities say they later found the woman at her home, along with the vehicle used in the robbery.

When police arrived at her home, she told them, “I did whatever you’re here for,” police body camera footage showed, according to WXIX. When the officer asked her, “what would that be?” she responded by saying, “robbery.”

Detective Brandon McCroskey told the Journal-News that the woman had financial issues and may have been scammed out of “a lot of money”.

“Seems as though, the way I understand it, she’d been communicating with some people online who may have been scamming her,” McCroskey told WXIX. “A very common theme, unfortunately, and tragically, we see a lot of that with elderly victims who are being scammed out of large amounts of money. It seems like that very well could be the case here.”

Detectives reported finding a gun in the woman’s car.

The woman, who has no known previous criminal history, is charged with aggravated robbery with a firearm and tampering with evidence, both felonies, according to police.

Fairfield Township is about a 60-mile drive east of Pittsburgh. – The Charlotte Observer/Tribune News Service