Armed Robber Hits Bellevue Square Nordstrom

An armed robber struck the  on a busy holiday shopping night, demanded cash from a customer service clerk and took off into the parking lot, according to Bellevue Police.

About 8:15 p.m., a man walked up to the third floor customer service desk in Nordstrom and demanded cash, and threatened to kill the customer service clerk, spokesman Officer Seth Tyler said Friday.

The suspect showed a gun in his waistband, Tyler said. After getting the cash, the man exited from the west side of the department store -- the side closest to 100th Avenue Northeast.

Store security watched the robbery over Nordstrom's surveillance cameras and called police, Tyler said.

"They actually called us while this was in progress," Tyler said. "The suspect was in and out in a matter of two minutes."

"Officers were actually at the mall when the call came out doing traffic control so we were there very quickly," Tyler said. "We think he may have gotten into a vehicle in th west parking garage of Bellevue Square mall."

No customers were at the customer service desk, where customers normally would be returning items, and customers may not have even been aware that a robbery had taken place, he said.

Bellevue Square does not have security videos in that parking lot, so no photos were taken of a getaway vehicle -- if one had been used -- or any accomplices, Tyler said.

The store security is trained to not interfere with an armed suspect.

"This is a lot different than a regular shoplifter," he said.

The Bellevue Square Nordstrom didn't miss a beat and remained open during the incident, which took place within two minutes, Tyler said.

The man took pains to disguise himself, Tyler said.

"He had very large glasses on, a face mask covering his mouth and a large beanie covering his head," he said. "We think he may have put that on before he entered the store and possibly took it off before he left."

"We deal with a lot of shoplifts but we don't deal with a lot of robberies," he said.

The man was descibed as a black man, late-30s or early-40s, described wearing a leather jacket with blue and white plaid shirt under the jacket. He also was wearing large glasses, a face mask covering his mouth and a large beanie covering his head.

Anyone with information in this case, or who may have seen the suspect in the west parking garage of the Bellevue Square mall is asked to contact the Bellevue Police at 425-577-5600.