A man who implied he had a weapon demanded money from a bank in Arlington, Virginia, and held four adults and a child hostage on Tuesday before police were able to take him into custody, authorities say.
The five people, including a child, are safe after the man barricaded them inside the Wells Fargo bank in the 3100 block of Washington Boulevard, in the Clarendon area, Arlington County police said. The group included patrons and employees of the bank. No injuries were reported.
Police received an initial report of an armed robbery at the bank at about 3 p.m. The man entered, implied he had a weapon and demanded money, according to the preliminary investigation.
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The husband of one of the hostages said minutes after he dropped off his wife at the bank with their 3-year-old daughter, he received frantic calls.
“She called me ten times and when I picked up the phone, she said a criminal is there, call police," Jean Paul said.
Video footage showed a large number of officers in the area, with streets shut down. A hostage negotiator responded to the standoff, and officers holding shields could be seen.
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Paul made his way along closed streets and yellow police tape to the scene. He said he was terrified as he watched Arlington County Police and a SWAT team try to convince the man to give himself up.
“I said it’s no good, they kill people," he said.
At about 4:35 p.m., police said that they had taken the suspect into custody and that hostages had “safely exited” the bank. They later confirmed that no weapon was found at the scene.
Authorities later identified the suspect as 30-year-old Oscar Gonzalez Allarenja, of Durham, North Carolina. Allarenja was charged with bank robbery and abduction.
The investigation is ongoing, and people in the area were advised to expect police activity.
The bank is about a block southwest of the Clarendon Metro station, in an area full of bars, restaurants, offices and apartment buildings.
"We are incredibly relieved and grateful that the situation has been resolved with no physical injuries to any of our employees or customers," a Wells Fargo representative said in a statement.
Wells Fargo said it is cooperating with the investigation.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
