Man robs Houston bank, leaves note blaming the coronavirus pandemic, police say

Houston police say that a man walked into a bank and robbed it with a note saying that he was forced to do so because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The man walked into the Woodforest National Bank on Wednesday and told a teller that he needed to make a withdrawal.

But then he allegedly handed the teller a handwritten note that explained that the coronavirus pandemic had forced him to rob the bank, according to KTRK-TV.

"I didn't get a stimulus or that 10K loan. I lost my business to COVID so please make this easy and comply," read the note posted by the Houston Police Robbery Division.

"I don't wanna hurt nobody but will if I have to. Any suspicious moves and I will start shooting so please go get my money," the note continued.

"Don't make anything noticeable!" the note concluded.

The teller told the police that she didn't see a gun, but was afraid for her life and complied with his demands.

Police say that he got away with an undisclosed amount of money. They are asking for help from the public to find the robber.

Houston police released photos from surveillance video taken from inside the bank of the man, who was wearing a mask. They also posted an image of the handwritten note.

A reward of up to $5,000 was offered for information leading to the arrest and/or charging of the suspect.

The suspect might have gotten the idea to blame the coronavirus for his crime from politicians. Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York opined that perhaps the drastic increase in crime was due to poor people's desperation from the coronavirus lockdown.

"Maybe this has to do with the fact that people aren't paying their rent and are scared to pay their rent," Ocasio-Cortez said.

"And so they go out and they need to feed their child and they don't have money so you ... maybe have to ... they're put in a position ... they feel like they either need to shoplift some bread or go hungry that night," she explained helpfully.

Here's a local news video about the incident from KHOU-TV:

Man who robbed Houston bank says fallout from COVID-19 forced him to do itwww.youtube.com