JACKSONVILLE, Fla.–Nearly a dozen members inside a branch of a credit union here were held hostage by a gun-toting robber yesterday before a SWAT team stormed the building, freeing them.
Although the robber at one point put a gun to the back of one hostage’s head, no one was injured in the two-hour standoff here and the robber has been arrested.
According to police, at 9 a.m. on Thursday a 911 call was made from Community First Credit Union that a robbery was taking place. Police responded quickly, and after confirming there was a robbery, SWAT team negotiators were called.
Sheriff Mike Williams told local media it was a tense situation with SWAT team members positioned outside the credit union’s branch. As many as 80 police officers responded, and the FBI is now involved, as well.
SWAT team negotiators said the suspect, who has been identified as Nicholas Humphrey, asked for money and made demands for some family members to come to the credit union. In the process of negotiations, several hostages were released, even as the suspect made threats toward other hostages, Williams said.
“We have verifiable information that he was putting a gun to the back of a hostage's head," Williams said.
The robber was distracted when two people, who were not identified by police, escaped the branch and made a run for it.
That’s when SWAT team members stormed the credit union and put themselves between the gunman and the 11 hostages Williams said.
"We were able to take him into custody and save the lives of those hostages," Williams told local media about an hour after the hostage ordeal had ended. "We were not only able to resolve it, but resolve it peacefully."
According to police, Humphrey will likely face potential charges of bank robbery, armed kidnapping and armed assault,
Williams described the hostages afterward as "shaken up." Local news footage, which can be found here, shows hostages running from the CU.
An odd twist in the robbery attempt, according to police, is that the suspect entered Community First CU with a dog. That dog has since been turned over to animal control.