The police in Bochum were on large-scale operations for several hours because of a suspected dangerous situation in a savings bank. A shopping street in the center of the Wattenscheid district was cordoned off on Tuesday afternoon, several shops were evacuated and residents were not allowed into their apartments.
In the end, the police arrested a 40-year-old – but the suspicious items turned out to be harmless. The police said they are continuing to investigate the background to what happened.
Unclear danger situation
The officials had pointed out the large-scale operation on social networks and appealed to people not to come to the central pedestrian zone in Wattenscheid. There is an unclear danger situation at the Sparkasse branch on Oststrasse, said a police spokeswoman.
There were two suspicious items involved. The investigators did not initially say how these items came to the Sparkasse branch and why they were considered suspicious, citing the ongoing investigation. Just this much: take the situation seriously. “The police are on site with many emergency services.”
Robots in use
Specialists from the State Criminal Police Office were called in and a robot was sent to the branch to examine the items more closely. In the end, the all-clear was given: “We did not find any dangerous objects,” said a police spokeswoman.
The investigators initially did not provide any further information about what exactly the arrested 40-year-old suspect was accused of. The person is now being investigated further.
The bank was evacuated relatively quickly after the alarm. The police emphasized shortly after the operation began that there were no longer any people in the branch. There is also no danger to uninvolved people.
The shops in the vicinity of the Sparkasse branch were still deserted on Tuesday afternoon, and the pedestrian zone in Wattenscheid was partially cordoned off. The Bochum district of Wattenscheid is located in the west of Bochum city center and directly borders Essen. Police officers wearing helmets and bulletproof vests secured the area, as a dpa reporter reported. Some onlookers stood at the barrier tape.
The police will only release further information about the background to the operation as the investigation continues.
