Probe continues into robbery involving fake bomb taped to man

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) — A device strapped to a bank employee’s chest during a robbery was not a bomb, police said Wednesday as they worked to determine whether the man was a participant in the crime or a victim.

“The bomb squad made the determination that it was in fact a hoax bomb,” said police Capt. Tony Rode.

On Tuesday evening, the man was in the drive-through lane of the bank where he works. The device was strapped to him with duct tape, and he seemed convinced that it was a real bomb, Rode said.

It wasn’t clear how the robbery occurred. Authorities said the employee passed a “significant amount” of money to two men and a woman he claimed had abducted him at gunpoint from his Dania Beach home and brought him to the Wachovia bank branch in downtown Hollywood.

The employee said the alleged kidnappers wore masks, the two men had guns and he could only provide a generic description to investigators, Rode said.

The bank employee, whose identity was not released, was not injured. He and his girlfriend were questioned overnight by investigators and released early Wednesday, but it was still unclear whether they had been victims or participants, Rode said.

“We have more questions than answers,” he said. “One question is, are they somehow involved? We just don’t know. We’re treating them for now as victims, but that could change.”