1 person in Coral Gables bank may have or be attached to bomb

Coral Gables bank may have or be attached to bomb,

A tense and potentially explosive hostage situation at a Coral Gables Bank of America continued Friday morning amid fears that the one person left inside the bank at 1540 S. Dixie Hwy. may have or be attached to a bomb.

About 11:20 a.m., a person exited the building.

Sgt. Janette Frevola, a spokeswoman for the Coral Gables Police Department, said about 10:45 a.m. that there is only one person left in the bank after two bank employees were taken hostage.

``There is only one individual at the bank,'' she said. ``We do not know the individual's role at this time. There are no bank employees in the bank and no customers in the bank that we know of. There is a device inside and we're still trying to work that angle.''

Radio communications suggest the incident may have begun as a home invasion in the 9800 block of Southwest 88th Street, but neither Frevola nor FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela would confirm that account.

However, an FBI source told a reporter with Miami Herald news partner WFOR-CBS 4 that a Bank of America employee, who has a bomb strapped to him, was kidnapped from a South Miami apartment complex and forced to enter the bank before it opened at 9 a.m.

The invasion of the bank, near the University of Miami and two schools -- Sunset Elementary and Riviera Day School -- has clogged traffic in both directions on U.S. 1 and drawn concerns that a bomb may be in the building. Officers were notified about 8 a.m.

Anita Jenkins, a travel agent with The Travel Source, which is located in the same building as the bank, said outside a nearby Publix that about eight bank employees are holed up in the grocery store's upstairs employee lounge.

``They're all concerned,'' she said. ``We had a little prayer upstairs. Someone from the bank did a prayer.''

Bank of America spokesperson Christine Toth confirmed that several people were being held hostage inside at one point.

Members of the Miami-Dade bomb squad and hostage negotiators are at the scene.

George Giapetro, 42, said he arrived for work at a Whip 'n Dip near the bank about 9 a.m. and saw a man in a bomb suit approach the bank and send in a robot.

Police have closed U.S. 1 in both directions at Red Road and are asking drivers to stay away from the area.

The University of Miami police issued an alert to students on campus about 8:45 a.m. asking them to avoid the area. About 9 a.m., students were notified that the UM Stanford shuttle was delayed.

Riviera Day School, 6800 Nervia St., a private school in Coral Gables, and Sunset Elementary School, 5120 SW 72nd St. in South Miami, are on lock down.

Miami Herald Staff David Smiley, El Nuevo Herald Staff Enrique Flor and CBS-4 reporter Dave Game contributed to the story.

(source:miamiherald.com)