Man armed with fake bomb robs Harford County bank

A man robbed a First National Bank branch in Harford County yesterday by claiming to have a bomb, which forced the evacuation of the bank and a supermarket before investigators determined the device was a fake.

The man walked into the branch in the 900 block of Pulaski Highway in Havre de Grace about 11: 45 a.m., demanded all the available cash and threatened to detonate a bomb he claimed was inside a bank bag that he placed on a teller's counter, said W. Faron Taylor, deputy state fire marshal.

The man left the bag on the counter and fled on foot with an undetermined amount of cash, Taylor said.

State bomb squad investigators evacuated the bank and a neighboring Weis supermarket and brought in a remote control robotic device that took the "bomb" out of the bag, Taylor said.

He said the "bomb" turned out to be a "sophisticated hoax device."

Pub Date: 8/27/97