Bank Robbery Standoff Ends With Big Surprise For Armed SWAT Team
Posted November 28, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It appeared to be a real emergency that hit in the middle of the night in Montgomery, New Jersey.
It started when an alarm went off in a local bank, sending cops to the scene in a hurry. When they peered inside through the closed blinds, trying to see what might be going on inside the darkened building, they spotted someone inside.
They ordered him out, but he stubbornly refused to move, standing his ground, seeing to almost defy them to take him on.
The situation quickly became a tense standoff, as heavily armed police rushed to the neighbourhood, sealing off the area and evacuating three apartment buildings in case things went wrong.
Specially trained SWAT officers pulled out bullhorns and demanded whoever was inside emerge. And still no one came out.
After numerous phone calls went unanswered, this dramatic robbery in progress took a final turn, as SWAT teams broke through the doors and stormed the bank, finally smashing through the locks.
And that’s when they finally got their first look at the ‘suspect’ who caused so much commotion. It was a full-sized cardboard cutout of a person used for promotional purposes, left standing near the window.
Red faced cops quickly withdrew after realizing the cardboard man wasn’t likely to do much more than give them a paper cut. But at least he didn’t offer any resistance.
But this investigation still isn’t over – authorities are trying to figure out what set off the alarm in the first place.
File photo credit: Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images
