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Only in America 
A man dressed in a Darth Vader costume has robbed a bank in New York at gunpoint.
Witnesses at first thought it was a stunt and began looking round for TV cameras when they spotted the robber entering a Chase bank branch on Long Island.
Even when the black-clad raider pulled out a semi-automatic pistol to hold up the bank, one customer still thought he was joking.
Police said the 6ft 2in gunman won a "shoving match" against the onlooker, and then waved his gun around and ordered him to the floor.
A CCTV image released by officers shows the masked robber demanding cash from staff with the customer cowering on the floor in the background.
"The customer thought it might have been a joke, and not a serious attempt at a robbery," said Detective Sergeant William Lamb, of Suffolk County Police.
He said the gunman loaded an undisclosed amount of cash into a bag and fled from the scene.
He was seen speeding off from the area on a motorbike - still dressed as the arch villain in the Star Wars movies.
"I saw a guy running in a Darth Vader costume and he had a cape. I thought it was just a joke, but I guess he was serious," one witness told Fox News.
Police admitted it would be difficult to track the gunman because he did not take off his mask during the raid.
The only flaw in his costume were the camouflage trousers he wore beneath the cape.
The incident is the latest in a string of quirky robberies on the streets of New York.
A man dubbed the "Bouquet Bandit" was arrested the day before for robbing a bank armed with a bunch of flowers.
A woman wearing a cat mask held up a shoe shop, and a pensioner breathing oxygen from a cylinder tried to rob a store and died in a car crash two days later.
Witnesses at first thought it was a stunt and began looking round for TV cameras when they spotted the robber entering a Chase bank branch on Long Island.
Even when the black-clad raider pulled out a semi-automatic pistol to hold up the bank, one customer still thought he was joking.
Police said the 6ft 2in gunman won a "shoving match" against the onlooker, and then waved his gun around and ordered him to the floor.
A CCTV image released by officers shows the masked robber demanding cash from staff with the customer cowering on the floor in the background.
"The customer thought it might have been a joke, and not a serious attempt at a robbery," said Detective Sergeant William Lamb, of Suffolk County Police.
He said the gunman loaded an undisclosed amount of cash into a bag and fled from the scene.
He was seen speeding off from the area on a motorbike - still dressed as the arch villain in the Star Wars movies.
"I saw a guy running in a Darth Vader costume and he had a cape. I thought it was just a joke, but I guess he was serious," one witness told Fox News.
Police admitted it would be difficult to track the gunman because he did not take off his mask during the raid.
The only flaw in his costume were the camouflage trousers he wore beneath the cape.
The incident is the latest in a string of quirky robberies on the streets of New York.
A man dubbed the "Bouquet Bandit" was arrested the day before for robbing a bank armed with a bunch of flowers.
A woman wearing a cat mask held up a shoe shop, and a pensioner breathing oxygen from a cylinder tried to rob a store and died in a car crash two days later.
dreaming about LOS again 
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