A stretch of West River Road was blocked off nearly four hours Tuesday after a bomb threat at the Bank of America. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
Two suspects are in police custody after allegedly threatening to blow up the Bank of America on River Road in Rumson Tuesday afternoon, Mayor John Ekdahl said.
The unidentified men, who are from Monmouth County, are being held at Rumson police headquarters until they are charged by the Prosecutor’s Office.
After a near four-hour lockdown of part of Rumson’s busy main road, a sweep conducted by the FBI showed there was no bomb in the building, Ekdahl said.
“The building is clear,” he said. “There’s no bombs in the bank.”
Authorities had little details to release late Tuesday. Monmouth County Prosecutor Peter Warshaw told redbankgreen more details should be available tomorrow, and Rumson police are not authorized to talk about the incident because it’s under investigation.
“We do understand that they are local, as in Monmouth County, but don’t have anything else: height, weight, race, but they are from Monmouth County,” Ekdahl said.
According to initial reports relayed to Ekdahl, two men, one with a leather briefcase, were in the Bank of America at around 4:30p and threatened to blow up the building. They left the bank, but didn’t get far. Rumson police stopped the suspects outside the bank and arrested them at gunpoint, he said.
Police and area fire departments blocked off River Road, between First and Third streets, until about 7:45p, while a search of the building was conducted.
Ekdahl said once the suspects are charged, they’ll be transferred from Rumson to the county jail.
