BART releases photos of note-passing, would-be mugger

BART police released security images on Monday of a woman who allegedly tried to rob a fellow passenger with a threatening note over the weekend in San Francisco.

The suspect, who has not been identified, is seen wheeling a cart and wearing dark sunglasses on a Dublin-bound train on Saturday. She was described as white, in her 30s with “strawberry blond” hair, police said.

The woman allegedly passed the threatening note to 32-year-old Oakland resident Julie Dragland, who was sitting in front of her on the train as it headed through San Francisco from Daly City to the East Bay just before 5 p.m.

“There are 2 guns pointed at you now,” read the note, handwritten in red ink. “If you want to live hand back your wallet + phone NOW + do not turn around and be descreet. Do not turn around until after you left Civic Center + you will live.”

BART police released pictures of a woman suspected in an attempted robbery on a train in San Francisco on Saturday. BART police released pictures of a woman suspected in an attempted robbery on a train in San Francisco on Saturday. Photo: BART / / Photo: BART / / Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close BART releases photos of note-passing, would-be mugger 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

In an interview with The Chronicle on Sunday, Dragland described faking a seizure after receiving the note from the faceless stranger behind her.

The commotion got the attention of other passengers and prompted the would-be robber to flee the train at Civic Center Station.

BART police scoured the station after Dragland called 911, but never located the suspect. Investigators later tracked down the train car the confrontation happened on and released still images of the suspect, seeking help from the public in finding her.

The security images were available after BART spent $1.42 million outfitting all of its cars with working cameras earlier this year.

The agency had used decoys on nearly 77 percent of its rail cars, but replaced them all with working cameras after The Chronicle exposed the fakes.

The cameras were already paying off before this latest incident. BART police identified and arrested two juvenile suspects in an April takeover robbery at Oakland’s Coliseum Station that was first revealed by The Chronicle — one of several high-profile attacks on trains in recent months.

Anyone with information on the identity of the culprit can call BART police at (510) 464-7040.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky