Stores evacuated after bank robber leaves hoax explosive
MANCHESTER, N.H. --A strip mall was evacuated and a day care center locked down Tuesday after a robber ran from a bank and left behind a device that he said was explosive.
Police say the device was a hoax -- a box with lights that was made to look like a bomb.
The Pine Island Plaza on Brown Avenue, which includes about 20 businesses, was evacuated and the nearby New Beginnings Child Center locked down as a bomb squad investigated the device.
Businesses re-opened by noon.
The robbery occurred at about 9:30 at a
"According to bank employees, a man had entered the bank, displaying an object on the counter at the teller's window," said Police Sgt. Maureen Tessier. "He handed over a note to the teller demanding cash and indicating that the object was an explosive device, which he threatened to detonate."
The man was wearing a blond wig. He ran off with cash, leaving the device behind.
No one was hurt.
Police continue searching for the robber.
