MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) - The Latest on threats involving a bank northwest of Atlanta (all times local):
8:30 p.m.
The man who claimed to have a bomb inside a suburban Atlanta bank and was fatally shot by an officer has been identified.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Friday via Twitter that the suspect was 33-year-old Brian Easley. The agency says it released the name after notifying the man’s family but did not indicate a hometown. GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles described Easley as a “transient.”
WSB-TV reports Easley called the station earlier Friday saying he had a bomb and two people with him inside the bank. He also told an editor his life story, saying he was nearing homelessness after the Department of Veterans Affairs stopped his monthly disability payment.
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5:15 p.m.
A police spokesman confirms a man who claimed to have a bomb inside a suburban Atlanta bank was fatally shot by an officer.
Cobb County police Sgt. Dana Pierce said in an email Friday the suspect died as the result of an “officer involved shooting.” Pierce said a police squad had rendered safe the backpack in which the man claimed to have a bomb. He said officers were still analyzing the contents to determine if it actually contained explosives.
Earlier, at least two people were freed from the bank after a military-style vehicle rammed a back wall of the Wells Fargo building.
WSB-TV reported a man called the station saying he had a bomb and two people with him inside the bank. The unidentified man told the station the bomb had the power to “take out the room.”
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2:10 p.m.
A man who claimed to have a bomb inside a suburban Atlanta bank has died after a standoff with police.
Cobb County Police Chief Mike Register told reporters Friday that the unidentified man had died but did not offer further details.
Earlier, at least two people were freed from the bank after a military-style vehicle rammed a back wall of the Wells Fargo building.
WSB-TV reported earlier that a man called the station saying he had a bomb and two people with him inside the bank. The unidentified man told the station the bomb had the power to “take out the room.”
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1 p.m.
Police say at least two people have made it out of a suburban Atlanta bank where a man barricaded himself inside, telling a TV station he had a bomb.
Cobb County Police Sgt. Dana Pierce said early Friday afternoon that those people were not injured, and police are now trying to determine how to resolve the situation with the man inside.
Moments earlier, a large military-type vehicle was used to smash its way through a back wall of the Wells Fargo branch, raining bricks onto its hood.
It was not immediately clear if the people who made it out escaped through that opening in the wall.
Police have not released details about threats the man made. WSB-TV reported earlier that a man called the station saying he had a bomb and two people with him inside the bank. The unidentified man told the station the bomb had the power to “take out the room.”
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12:35 p.m.
A man who called WSB-TV to say he was in a bank outside Atlanta with a bomb inside told an assignment editor that he had a bomb and two people inside with him.
The Atlanta station reports that the conversation lasted more than 30 minutes that he does not want to hurt anyone and that if he does detonate the bomb, he would let the two people go.
In the station’s video account of the conversation, the man can be heard saying that the bomb has the power to “take out the room.”
The Wells Fargo bank branch is located near Interstate 75.
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12:25 p.m.
Police were evacuating patrons from fast-food restaurants and other businesses around a bank in suburban Atlanta after reports that a man making threats was holed up inside with employees.
Officers had surrounded the Wells Fargo branch near Interstate 75 early Friday afternoon. Many of them wore tactical gear and carried long guns.
WSB-TV reports that its newsroom received a call Friday morning from the man who said he was inside the bank and talked for more than 30 minutes.
Cobb County Police Chief Mike Register told the news station that officers are in contact with the man.
Cobb County police Officer Alicia Chilton said in a statement to The Associated Press late Friday morning that no one inside the bank has been harmed.
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11:55 a.m.
Police say a man inside a Wells Fargo bank branch outside Atlanta has made some threats and is still inside the bank with an unknown number of employees.
Cobb County police Officer Alicia Chilton said in a statement to The Associated Press late Friday morning that no one inside the bank has been harmed.
Chilton said police are limiting the amount of information shared because the suspect might be monitoring news coverage and social media.
WSB-TV reports that its newsroom received a call Friday morning from the man who said he was inside and talked for more than 30 minutes.
Cobb County Police Chief Mike Register told the news station that officers are in contact with the man.
The bank is located near Interstate 75.
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11:45 a.m.
Several heavily armed police officers have converged on a bank northwest of Atlanta after reports of man claiming to have a bomb with possible hostages inside.
WSB-TV reports that its newsroom received a call Friday morning from the man who said he was inside and talked for more than 30 minutes.
Cobb County Police Chief Mike Register told the news station that officers are in contact with the man.
The Cobb County Department of Transportation said in a brief statement Friday morning that a stretch of a heavily traveled road in the area is closed due to police activity. The agency was advising motorists to avoid the area.
Cobb County police did not immediately respond to requests for the information about the situation.
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