Seattle woman arrested, charged in multiple bank robberies

Seattle serial bank robber arrested, charged

A 24-year-old woman is facing multiple first-degree robbery charges over a string of bank robberies in the Seattle area over the past year.

SEATTLE - A 24-year-old woman has been arrested in a slew of bank robberies in the Seattle area, now charged with eight counts of first-degree robbery.

Leena Chang, who was living in the University District, is accused of handing notes to bank employees, demanding cash from their drawers while saying that she was armed.

The backstory:

The alleged robberies and attempted robberies happened at eight locations across various Seattle neighborhoods, occurring between June 2024 and July 2025.

One of the notes Chang is accused of using reads, "I have a gun. Give me all your money. No silent alarm."

An FBI bulletin regarding a Seattle serial bank robber went out in early 2025, which is around the same time when Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound received an anonymous tip which identified "Leena Chang" as the perpetrator.

The tip included information about the prior robberies, along with text that said, "She LOVES that the FBI put out a bulletin on her and has never seemed so proud that the term SERIAL bank robber is what she is being considered and up until the last, most recent bank she did."

Following the eighth robbery, Seattle police arrested Chang near her apartment on the afternoon of July 7. 

Officers also say they seized several items that connected her to the robberies, including her shoes, a green bag, pink wallet, a hyper-realistic airsoft gun, a brown knitted head covering and over $1,800 in cash.

Police believed that Chang traveled between her apartment and the various banks via public transit. SPD used video surveillance from buses, Google Maps, Chang's apartment and the targeted banks to match up the timing of the robberies with Chang's location.

According to court documents, the incidents happened at:

• The Wells Fargo Bank at 1600 Queen Anne Avenue N (Queen Anne)
• The US Bank at 2746 NE 45th Street (University Village)
• The Key Bank at 9735 Holman Road NW (Greenwood)
• The US Bank at 4200 SW Edmunds Street (West Seattle)
• The HomeStreet Bank at 4036 E Madison Street (Madison Park)
• The Washington Federal Bank at 4800 Rainier Avenue S (Columbia City)
• The US Bank at 3124 West McGraw Street (Magnolia)
• The Washington Federal Bank at 4102 California Avenue SW (Genesee)

Chang remains in the King County Jail on $500,000 bail. Her next court date is scheduled for July 23, where she will enter a guilty or not guilty plea.

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