Incident Summary:

7/21/1971: Three members of the Black Liberation Army robbed Fidelity Savings and Loan in San Francisco, California, United States. $9,400 was stolen.

GTD ID:
197107210001

When:
1971-07-21

Country:
United States

Region:
North America

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

California

City:
San Francisco

Location Details:
Downtown

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Hostage Taking (Barricade Incident)
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Business
Name of Entity Fidelity Savings and Loan
Specific Description Fidelity Savings and Loan in downtown San Francisco
Nationality of Target United States
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage Yes
Extent of Property Damage Minor (likely < $1 million)
Value of Property Damage $9,400.00
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Firearms Handgun
Firearms Rifle/Shotgun (non-automatic)
Weapon Details
Automatic pistol and sawed-off shotgun
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?No
Part of Multiple Incident?No
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) No
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Additional Information Anthony Bottom held up the bank teller while Francisco Torres kept watch. Anthony Bottom was convicted of the incident while Gabriel and Francisco Torres pled guilty. It is believed that some of the money stolen was used to help fund other BLA attacks, however, it is unknown if any of the money was also marked for personal use.
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Black Liberation Army No
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators 0
Number of Captured Perpetrators 3
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 0 Fatalities / 0 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 0
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 0
Total Number of Injured 0
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
Robert Tanenbaum and Philip Rosenberg, "Badge of the Assassin," E. P. Dutton, 1979.
Christopher Hewitt, "Political Violence and Terrorism in Modern America: A Chronology," Praeger Security International, 2005.