ARLINGTON, Va. – Authorities in Virginia said a bank robbery suspect, identified as 30-year-old Oscar Gonzalez Allarenja, took four adults and one child hostage inside a bank just outside of Washington, D.C. on Tuesday.
Allarenja hails from Durham, North Carolina, officials said. He is charged with bank robbery and abduction following an hour-long standoff that took place at the Wells Fargo Bank in the 3100 block of Washington Boulevard in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, Fox News reported.
The Arlington County Police Department said a preliminary investigation revealed that a suspect — later identified as Allarenja — entered the bank at 3:09 p.m. on Tuesday. He proceeded to grab an employee, said he had a firearm and demanded cash prior to walking behind the counter.
“Responding officers established a perimeter and worked to safely resolve the incident as the suspect remained barricaded inside the bank with employees and patrons,” police said. “During the course of the incident, members of the Emergency Response Team approached the bank, gave the suspect commands, which he complied with, and took him into custody without incident. The patrons and employees, four adults and one child, then safely exited the bank. All were evaluated on scene by medics as a precaution and no injuries were reported.”
Law enforcement authorities did not located a weapon at the scene.
The Arlington County Police Department said the robbery took place in the 3100 block of Washington Boulevard on Tuesday when the suspect “entered the bank, implied he had a weapon and demanded money.” (City of Arlington)
Allarenja was booked at the Arlington County Detention Facility and is being held without bail.
“The safety and security of our customers and employees is our most important priority, and we are incredibly relieved and grateful that the situation has been resolved with no physical injuries to any of our employees or customers,” bank officials said in a statement to FOX 5 DC. “We are appreciative of the work of the Arlington Police Department in reaching a peaceful resolution and will continue to do everything we can to assist authorities as they investigate the situation.”
The crime comes on the heels of a mass murder at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, that left five victims dead and eight others injured on Monday, including LMPD Officer Nicholas Wilt who was listed in critical condition after suffering a gunshot wound to the head. The man accused of the mass shooting died during the encounter.
