MASON CITY — Federal authorities believe a man who used an assault rifle to rob a credit union in Iowa is the “AK-47 Bandit” believed to have held up banks in several states and wounded a police officer in California. Authorities say a man entered the Iowa Heartland Credit Union in Mason City on Tuesday wearing a black ski mask. He was armed with an AK-47 and left with an undisclosed amount of money.
A robber matching that description shot and seriously wounded a police officer during a holdup in Chino, California, in February 2012.
The FBI is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to an arrest in that case.
The FBI says the “AK-47 Bandit” also robbed banks in Idaho and Washington in 2012 and a Nebraska bank last year.