Bungled Bank Heists

Bungled Bank Heists: For every flawless job there are dozens of robberies undone by bad timing, bad intel, and worse luck. From wild west raids that ended in town shootouts to modern crews tripped by dye packs and time locks, bank robbery history is a record of ambitious plans meeting immovable reality. The stories also show how banks and communities learned to fight back.

James Younger Gang: On 7 September 1876, eight outlaws rode into Northfield, Minnesota, and ran into armed townspeople. A cashier refused to open the vault, two gang members were killed, and the haul was reportedly $26.70. Only Frank and Jesse James escaped.

Dalton Gang: The gang planned to rob two banks at once in their old hometown of Coffeyville, Kansas, on 5 October 1892. Townspeople recognized them despite fake whiskers and opened fire; four of the five outlaws died, and Emmett Dalton survived with 23 wounds.

Dye Pack: Hidden in a stack of bills, this device is triggered by a transmitter as a robber leaves the bank. After a short delay it erupts in red dye and tear gas, staining the cash and the thief so the money is hard to spend and the robber is easy to identify.

McArthur Wheeler: In 1995 this Pittsburgh man robbed two banks with lemon juice smeared on his face, believing it would make him invisible to cameras. He was arrested soon after the footage aired on the news, and his case helped inspire research on the Dunning Kruger effect.

North Hollywood Shootout: On 28 February 1997, two robbers in body armor and carrying automatic rifles fought police for about 44 minutes outside a Bank of America branch in Los Angeles. Officers with pistols were badly outgunned, and the clash changed how American police are armed.

Norrmalmstorg Robbery: A failed 1973 robbery at a Stockholm bank turned into a six day hostage standoff after the gunman demanded a fellow criminal be released. Hostages later defended their captors, inspiring the term Stockholm syndrome.

John Wojtowicz: His August 1972 robbery of a Brooklyn Chase branch, later dramatized in Dog Day Afternoon, fell apart when he found that most of the cash had already been collected for the day. The standoff lasted about 14 hours and ended at JFK Airport with his accomplice shot dead by the FBI.

Baker Street Robbery: In 1971 thieves tunneled into the vault of a London Lloyds Bank and looted safe deposit boxes. A radio amateur picked up the lookout's walkie talkie chatter and tried to alert police, who could not work out which bank was being robbed.

Hatton Garden Safe Deposit: Aging thieves drilled into the London vault over Easter 2015 and took millions in valuables. They were identified through surveillance and bugged conversations and later convicted, and the oldest member of the gang was in his seventies.

Willie Sutton: Famous for robbing banks in disguise, Sutton escaped prison three times and was credited with saying he robbed banks because that is where the money is. He later said he never said it and that a reporter invented the line.

Sargent and Greenleaf: In the 1870s, this Rochester firm pioneered clock driven vault locks that stay shut until a preset hour, even for the manager. Holdups were frustrated because forcing a banker at gunpoint could not open the vault ahead of schedule.

Northern Bank Robbery: Gunmen held two bank employees' families hostage in December 2004 and walked away from a Belfast bank with about 26.5 million pounds. The bank then scrapped and reissued its notes, making much of the loot hard to spend.

Securitas Depot: The February 2006 robbery in Tonbridge, England netted about 53 million pounds, the largest cash theft in British history. The thieves were so overwhelmed by the volume that they left an estimated 154 million pounds behind.

Sam Bass: The Texas outlaw was betrayed by a gang member who tipped off the Rangers. As Bass scouted the bank at Round Rock in July 1878 he was mortally wounded, and he died two days later on his 27th birthday.

Henry Starr: The Cherokee outlaw was among the first bank robbers to use a getaway car, in 1915. In 1921 he was shot during a holdup in Harrison, Arkansas, by a former bank president armed with a Winchester rifle, and died days later.

Henry Newton Brown: The marshal of Caldwell, Kansas was honored with a presentation Winchester rifle, then turned bank robber. After a 1884 holdup in Medicine Lodge in which the cashier was killed, a mob came for him and he was shot trying to run.

Mason City Raid: The Dillinger gang's 1s934 bank raid in Iowa netted about $52,000, but a police sniper wounded John Dillinger in the shoulder. The robbers used hostages as shields on the running boards of their getaway cars.

Gallatin Bank Robbery: In December 1869 Jesse James is believed to have shot the cashier of a Missouri bank, mistaking him for the man who killed his old commander. His horse bolted and was traced back to him, making him a wanted man.

St. Albans Raid: In October 1864, Confederate raiders crossed from Canada, robbed three banks in St. Albans, Vermont, and tried to burn the town with bottled Greek fire that failed to ignite. They fled back to Canada, where a judge released them.

Banco Central Fortaleza: In August 2005, thieves tunneled about 78 meters from a rented house, run as a front for an artificial grass business, into the Banco Central vault in Brazil and carried out about 165 million reais. Police later arrested many of the gang and recovered only part.

Pinkerton Raid on the James Farm: Pinkerton agents hunting the James brothers threw an incendiary device into their mother's Missouri farmhouse in January 1875. It killed Jesse's young half brother Archie and blew off his mother's arm, and public sympathy swung toward the outlaws.

Gladbeck Hostage Crisis: A 1988 bank robbery in Gladbeck, Germany turned into a 54 hour hostage drama across West Germany. Reporters interviewed the gunmen on camera, and one climbed into their car to guide it, sparking a national debate on press ethics.

Cole Younger: The Northfield outlaw served 25 years in a Minnesota prison before parole in 1901. He later toured with Frank James in a Wild West show and lived until 1916.

Joseph Lee Heywood: The acting cashier of Northfield's bank refused to open the safe, reportedly claiming it was on a time lock, and was shot dead by the gang. He is remembered as a hero, and the old bank building is now a museum.