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UPDATE 10:30 p.m. — Police identified the suspect as 30-year-old Oscar Gonzalez Allarenja of Durham, North Carolina.
Allarenja was charged with bank robbery and abduction. Police said that he was being held without bond.
The following story has been updated to reflect this information.
ARLINGTON COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) — Police said they took a man from North Carolina into custody after he tried to rob a bank in Clarendon Tuesday afternoon, barricading himself inside it with employees and customers.
The Arlington County Police Department was dispatched for a report of an armed robbery at the Wells Fargo in the 3100 block of Washington Blvd. at 3:09 p.m.
Police said the indication was that someone went into the bank, implied he had a weapon and demanded money. The person barricaded himself in the building.
A DC News Now crew was there and saw people escorted out of the bank around 4:05 p.m.
Police later said that they had the person accused of trying to rob the bank, later identified as 30-year-old Oscar Gonzalez Allarenja, in custody. The mix of employees and customers who were in the building at the time, four adults and one child, all were out of the bank safely. Police said no one was hurt.
Jean-Paul Muende’s wife and 3-year-old daughter were among those inside the bank as he was picking up his kids from school.
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“When I go to school, she calls me 10 times — and when I pick up the phone she says criminal is here. Call the police. And I call the police for Arlington County,” Muende said.
Muende’s wife shared video from inside the bank.
“She sent me video. The manager fell down. He don’t talk, fought him. Give me money. Give me money,” Muende said.
Arlington County Police Public Information Officer Ashley Savage said the situation ended peacefully.
“Bank robberies themselves are not very commonplace. Neither are incidents in which we had individuals inside the bank. Our officers worked diligently to safely resolve this incident,” Savage said.
Muende was thankful no one was hurt.
“I am happy to see my family. And I appreciate Arlington County. They take the guy. I saw him,” Muende said.
Julia Tunis Bernard, a spokeswoman for Wells Fargo, provided DC News Now with the following statement: “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. 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.”
