Police respond to robbery and bomb threat
Police locked down several blocks north of the Chattanooga National Cemetery on Wednesday afternoon after reports of a robbery and bomb threat at the Southeast Financial Credit Union at the corner of Bailey Avenue and National Avenue.
At 3:30 p.m., officers had shut down a portion of Bailey Avenue, blocking it with their parked cars, and a handful of officers stood on National Avenue with assault rifles in hand. Yellow crime scene tape stretched across the streets at various intervals, with squad cars interspersed throughout.
According to police, a person allegedly entered the building, demanded money and then left a suspicious package on the counter before fleeing the scene. As a precaution, the package was treated as a potentially dangerous explosive.
After police had secured the building and its occupants were evacuated, the police department’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal team was brought in to evaluate and neutralize the potential bomb.
When it was clear the scene was safe, officers placed their rifles back into their cars but maintained positions guarding the perimeter.
Shortly before 5 p.m., a small explosion went off outside the credit union with the sound of a cannon, and a white puff of smoke floated into the air from the parking lot. Authorities then began walking around the parking lot and street, picking up debris from the package.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has assumed control of the investigation, authorities said.
There was no further information late Wednesday about a possible suspect, how much money was taken or if any weapons were involved, but a spokesman for the police department confirmed no one was injured in the incident.