Arlington County police say a suspect is in custody after an attempted robbery and barricade at a Clarendon-area bank on Tuesday afternoon.
Police said they arrested Oscar Gonzalez Allarenja, 30, of Durham, North Carolina, and charged him with bank robbery and abduction. Allarenja is being held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility.
Officers were called to a Wells Fargo branch in the 3100 block of Washington Boulevard around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday for a report of an armed robbery and possible hostage situation.
The Arlington County Police Department said the suspect is thought to have entered the bank, implied he had a weapon and demanded money before barricading himself inside the building with a number of patrons and employees.
Images from the scene captured a heavy police presence near the intersection of Washington and Wilson boulevards. Footage provided by WTOP’s news partners at 7News showed the suspect later being dragged out of the bank and handcuffed against a wall.
Four adults and one child inside the bank were able to safely exit, the department added. There were no injuries.
Max Pond, an Arlington resident who works nearby, witnessed law enforcement rush into action.
“The SWAT team rolled in, took positions all around the bank and pretty quickly after that, they were having some kind of conversation with (the suspect),” Pond told WTOP’s Dick Uliano. “You see all the squad cars pull in and start hopping out … I’m saying 45 minutes in, they had the guy out front.”
The WTOP Traffic Center reports Washington Boulevard reopened between Wilson Boulevard and 10th Street around 5 p.m. following the police response. For the latest road and traffic conditions, see WTOP’s traffic page or listen to updates every 10 minutes online or on the air at 103.5 FM.
