Norco shootout
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| Norco shootout | |
|---|---|
| Location | Norco, California, USA |
| Date | May 9, 1980 3:00 p.m. (UTC-7) |
| Attack type | Bank robbery |
| Deaths | 2 suspects, 1 police officer |
| Injured | 8 police officers wounded |
| Perpetrator(s) | five unidentified bank robbers |
The Norco shootout was an event that took place on May 9th, 1980. Five bank robbers armed with assault rifles, handguns, and IEDs robbed a Security Pacific Bank in Norco, California.
At 3 pm on May 9th, four robbers stormed into the bank and forced the tellers inside to hand over $20,000 in cash, while the fifth robber kept watch outside. Unknown to the robbers, an employee at a different bank across the street had spotted them entering the bank and called the police.
23-year old Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy Glyn Bolasky was the first officer to arrive at the scene. As he pulled up, the robber posted outside the bank opened fire on his police cruiser, blowing out his windshield and forcing Bolasky to throw it in reverse. Eventually, Bolasky's cruiser crashed into another car in the street. After that, he took cover behind his vehicle and returned fire. Upon hearing the shootout in the street, the robbers inside the bank ran outside and into their waiting getaway van. Once all five men were inside, they attempted to flee the scene, while continuing to shoot at Bolasky. But as the van sped away, a pellet from Bolasky's shotgun struck the driver in the back of the head, killing him and sending the van crashing into a tree. The four remaining robbers then exited the vehicle and fired over 200 rounds at Bolasky, putting 47 holes in his cruiser. Bolasky was hit five times in the arm and chest
By this time, Deputies Charles Hille and Andy Delgado had arrived at the scene. While Delgado pinned down the robbers with gunfire, Hille managed to evacuate Bolasky in his cruiser and transport him to a nearby hospital. The robbers continued to fire at other officers arriving at the scene, and eventually attempted to escape by commandeering a truck in the bank parking lot. As the four led a police pursuit, they shot at the pursuing officers and threw homemade bombs out the back of the truck. Overall, they damaged 33 police vehicles, including a police helicopter, forcing it to land.
The suspects eventually pulled far ahead of the pursuing police and stopped to ambush them as they caught up. Officer James Evans, one of the first police units to come under attack during the ambush, was shot in the head and killed. The police, armed with only .38 caliber revolvers and shotguns, were badly out gunned. But soon they were joined by San Bernadino Sheriff's deputy D. J. McCarty, who brought an AR-15 to the shootout. His presence was crucial. Shortly after he engaged the robbers with his patrol rifle, they stopped shooting and fled the scene. "There would have been a lot more dead cops on the road if not for that weapon" said Riverside Deputy Ron Parks, a participant in the police response that day, "after their capture, the suspects stated their intent was to fight to the death".[1]
After that, they ran into the woods. On May 11th, three suspects were arrested, while the fourth one was killed in a shootout with a SWAT team in the mountains. In all, eight officers had been wounded and one killed. All three arrested suspects were convicted of 46 felonies and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Officer Bolasky recovered from his injuries sustained in the shootout and was awarded several decorations for his actions. He later became an officer in the U. S. Air Force [2]
[edit] Film
A film, Rapid Fire was made about the shootout.
