MARIETTA, Ga. -- Police said a man who walked into a bank and said he had a bomb is dead.
The incident unfolded at the Wells Fargo bank at 2675 Windy Hill Road at about 9:30am Friday. According to police, the man, later identified as 33-year-old Brian Easley, said he had a bomb and began to make demands.
Those demands referenced the military and the man's status as a veteran, according to Cobb County Police Sgt. Dana Pierce.
Early in the standoff, Easley released some customers and employees from the bank. But police said he held two women hostage until after noon.
According to Cobb Co. Police Chief, they negotiated with him for about three hours. At midday, observers outside the bank saw a SWAT truck rammed into the rear area of the bank. Police say the hostages got out around that time. Moments later, 10 gunshots were heard.
Authorities entered the bank around 1:45 p.m. and said the suspect was dead. Police are calling the death an "officer-involved shooting" and a Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman said the Cobb County police department requested an independent investigation.
Police declined to release details about how the morning-long negotiation turned into a deadly confrontation.
"I don't think that suspect had an idea what was going on or about to occur," Pierce said.
Police said that the backpack that the man brought into the bank has been located and taken away by a bomb squad. Police "rendered it harmless," typically done by blowing up such suspicious packages. No other weapons had been found, Pierce said.
The GBI released the man's name late Friday.
There were no injuries reported other than the fatal one to the suspect. "Our heartfelt (condolences go) out to the family, friends of the suspect / victim, because of what he was going through," Pierce said. "But when we think about these type of operations, the bottom line here is public safety."
PHOTOS | Man claims he has bomb inside Wells Fargo
Windy Hill Road in that area were shut down during the standoff, but those lanes later began to reopen.(Check our traffic cameras and maps if you have to be in the area)
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