WASHINGTON — A bank robbery suspect with a gun and what he said was a bomb was shot and killed by the Montgomery County police in Silver Spring Wednesday morning, police said.
Asst. Chief Marcus Jones said the suspect walked into the manager’s office at the BB&T Bank on Wayne Avenue, near the Silver Spring Metro station, at about 10:45 a.m., and said he had a bomb in his backpack, showed a gun and demanded $20,000 in cash.
The backpack was later determined to not be an explosive device.
Jones said the manager went to a teller station and the “panic button,” was pressed, alerting the police. The suspect eventually left without money — after he heard sirens, Jones said — and headed for the alley behind the building near the Metro station. An officer confronted him in an alley, where he still had the backpack, and shot the suspect, who died at a hospital from his injuries.
Jones said buildings in the area have been evacuated “until that device has been made safe.” Roads were blocked earlier, including Colesville Road between Georgia Avenue and the East-West Highway, but were moving again by 2 p.m. Wednesday.
Police said in a news release that what was inside the suspect’s back pack did not have explosive capabilities but was made to look like it was an explosive device. The gun was recovered with the suspect.
The officer who shot the suspect is a 2.5-year veteran of the police department and has been placed on administrative leave, per protocol. Police are reviewing all available video, including body-worn camera footage.
Anyone with information about this should call 240-773-5070.
