Police Chief Says Bank of America Bomb Threat in Rumson Was Not a Robbery Attempt

Two suspects were in custody Tuesday night after Rumson police thwarted what Mayor John Ekdahl first described as an attempted robbery at the Bank of America on W. River Rd. However, Police Chief Richard Tobias later said, "It was not an attempted robbery."

 According to Mayor Ekdahl, the pair entered the bank just after 4 pm and threatened to blow up the building.

“Two tellers were in the bank at the time of the attempted robbery.  They were closing up the bank,” the mayor said. “They sounded the panic button when it happened.” The Rumson Police Department responded to the silent alarm and made the arrests, he said. The suspects were not immediately identified.

"Rumson doesn't see too many incidents like this, but it is good to see that in these rare instances, the Rumson police were able to respond with force and appropriately," said Mayor Ekdahl. 

Grace Clerkin and Stanley Seckler, both students at Rumson-Fair Haven High School,  were working nearby at Brennan’s during the incident.

“I was scared a little bit, but there were so many cops surrounding the area that I felt like they had it under control,” said Clerkin. “A lot of customers were coming in and asking what was going on. One customer came in and said that two kids were being held at gun point.”

Seckler said, “Nothing like this really happens here. We kept looking out the window to see what was going on. We even saw the two guys being arrested outside of the bank.”

Doug Preston, who lives on the end of 2nd Street, said he returned home from work to find the street blocked.   “Blocked off of River Road,” he said. “They (police) weren’t allowed to say anything.” 

The road was reopened at  7:40 p.m. after the Monmouth County Bomb Squad searched the bank and found no sign of bombs or explosives.  Dogs were seen being taken into the building to assist in the search.  A car that had been parked on the street in front of the bank was towed away.

The Rumson Police Department referred all inquiries on the case to the Monmouth County Prosecuter, Peter Warshaw.