COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — What law enforcement officers thought was a bank robbery turned out to be a misunderstanding, authorities said Friday evening.
The FBI initially told 11Alive a person came inside with a long gun, held someone hostage, and that the hostage situation had ended.
However, the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office has now confirmed that no robbery took place at the Bank of America located at 10 Glenda Trace.
Around 3:45 p.m., deputies said they responded to a silent alarm at the bank. They said Coweta 911 attempted calling multiple times while deputies were en route to find out if there was any validity of the alarm.
"As deputies arrived, a customer inside the bank spotted a uniformed deputy approaching the front door holding his patrol rifle. The customer mistakenly alerted customers and bank employees that the bank was being robbed and for everyone to get on the ground," the sheriff's office said in a news release. " At this point, multiple employees pressed their alarms and called 911 to report an armed robbery taking place."
Deputies went into the bank and they said that, after an extended investigation, they determined that no robbery took place and that there was never a hostage situation.
"All customers, bank employees and Coweta County Sheriff’s Office personnel are safe and unharmed," the sheriff's office said.