Stater Bros reopens after bomb squad finds wireless speaker
Police responded to the Stater Bros on Vista Chino and Sunrise Way in Palm Springs Friday afternoon when a man robbed the Chase Bank inside the grocery store and told an employee he had an explosive device.
After the bomb squad sent in two robots to canvass the store, authorities determined the explosive device was actually just a wireless speaker which the man left inside a black plastic bag by the bank teller, according to the Palm Springs Police Department.
Police were called to the scene around 12:25 p.m. The suspect fled the scene before officers arrived and he’s still on the run.
Police said he was described as a black male adult, wearing dark jeans, a blue “Dallas Cowboys” t-shirt, and a blue “Dallas Cowboys” ball cap.
According to Lieutenant Mike Kovaleff with the Palm Springs Police Department, the man waited in line, approached a teller, demanded money and then told the teller he had an explosive device. That’s when he put the black bag containing the wireless speaker on the ground and fled the scene.
Kovaleff released surveillance photos of the bank robber as officers attempted to track him down in Palm Springs.
The entrance to the grocery store was blocked off and the store was closed for close to four and a half hours. Employees gathered in the parking lot while the bomb squad sent in the two robots.
The bomb squad left around 4:30 p.m. and people are once again allowed back inside the store.
Police are still searching for the bank robber. Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call the Palm Springs Police Department at 760-323-8116.
