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‘Masked bandits’ found inside California bank; raucous raccoon romp caught on camera

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Two masked prowlers broke into a Redwood City, California, bank Tuesday morning, but the Chase branch will not be pressing charges.

A customer using the ATM before the bank opened spotted what he, at first, thought was a stuffed animal, and then it moved, KRON reported.

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Further investigation revealed two juvenile raccoons made themselves at home in the bank branch, leaving minor damage behind – including broken ceiling tiles and a toppled computer – but taking no money, KPIX reported.

The Peninsula Humane Society believes, after noticing muddy pawprints along a nearby tree, that the raccoons gained entry to the building through the roof, KRON reported.

“It’s not every day an animal organization gets called to deal with a bank break-in, but since the bank robbers were masked bandits of the wildlife kind, we were indeed the appropriate responders,” Buffy Martin Tarbox, the humane society’s communications manager, said in a prepared statement. “The bank managers let our rescue staff into the bank, and after about ten minutes of chasing the raccoons around the bank, we were finally able to safely shoo them outside. They apparently didn’t want to leave the bank.”

Tarbox told KPIX that raccoons are highly intelligent, curious and have opposable thumbs on their front paws, allowing them to learn complex methods to gain entry to buildings.

A box of almond cookies appears to be the focus of their burglary, Tarbox said.

“Thankfully the raccoons were not injured during their morning escapade, and to our knowledge they didn’t abscond with any money,” she added.