Inside The Norco Shootout: America's Wildest Bank Robbery

By the early 1980s, the city of Los Angeles had earned the dubious honor of being named the "bank robbery capital of the world." So on May 9, 1980, when five armed men stormed a branch of the Security Pacific Bank in nearby Norco, California, it wasn't all that unusual. However, when police arrived just two minutes later, they found that these were no ordinary bank robbers. These men were armed to the teeth, and the responding officers were met with hundreds of rounds from powerful assault rifles. It was the start of a firefight that would last nearly an hour and cover more than 25 miles. When the dust settled, 33 police vehicles were damaged, eight officers were wounded, and three people were dead. This is the story of the Norco Shootout: one of the most notorious in American history.