Police descend on Calgary bank after man acting erratically threatens to get gun
CTV
'Given the nature of the call, the fact that there was the potential of a weapon involved and what I'll call 'hostages' inside the bank – even though they were self isolating – that initiated the tactical response,' police said.
Calgary police took one person into custody on Friday after an incident at a Beltline bank that prompted officers to shut down part of 17th Avenue.
Police were called to the CIBC in the 1200 block of 17th Avenue S.W. at roughly 9:40 a.m. for concerns of a man who had entered the building and was acting erratically.
"He started causing some property damage and making a lot of vulgar comments," said Staff Sgt. Becky Spohr. "He then proceeded to escalate and made some threats to the patrons and the employees of the bank, and made a statement suggesting he was going to go out to his vehicle and get a gun."
It was at that time that patrons left the building and employees isolated themselves in a locked room.
Spohr said the offender left the bank and then returned – though it's unknown if he actually grabbed a weapon from his vehicle or not.
"He made his way back into the bank. At that time, thankfully, everyone was safe."
Spohr said seven bank employees were in the building at the time and had "contact with police throughout" the incident.
