2 Waikele bank robbers sought

Honolulu police are asking for the public's help to find two armed men who robbed a bank Monday in Waikele.

Police said the robbery, which happened about 3:45 p.m. at Bank of Hawaii's Waikele branch, involved the gunmen forcing customers and employees to lie on the floor.

"It is very unusual for Hawaii; we don't usually see this level of threat and violence," said Maj. Richard Robinson, commander of the Criminal Investigations Division. "We're looking at this very seriously."

The masked robbers arrived in a newer model white Mazda 5 minivan with tinted windows and entered the bank with their handguns drawn, Robinson said. One man demanded money while the second man acted as a lookout. There might have been a third person waiting in the car, Robinson said.

Five or six customers and about eight employees were in the bank and complied, he said. No one was hurt, and the men took an undisclosed amount of cash from the bank, Robinson said.

Police described the man who demanded the money as 5 foot 7 to 5 foot 10, and 140 to 160 pounds. The man standing by the doorway was 5 foot 6 to 6 feet tall, and about 160 to 200 pounds. Both men wore black cloth masks.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 529-3115.