Caught On Camera: Man Places Fake Bomb Outside Of Jewelry Store In Howard County
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (WJZ) -- Video shows a suspect placing a package at the door of Sergio's Fine Jewelers along with a note demanding jewelry and cash on Oct. 1.
Inside the box? A device that looked like a bomb caused police to evacuate the entire plaza.
"The cop came in and said this is not a drill everybody needs to evacuate," Michelle Luedtke said.
"The bomb squad came and the bomb robot. There were bomb dogs sniffing everywhere. There was drones going up above checking the buildings and everything," said McKensey Cleppin.
At first, Michelle Luedtke who works at the Dog Wash didn't think anything of it was real until police had them move farther away from the jewelry store.
"When they pushed us further back I was like okay something's real!" Luedtke.
"If you saw Sergio's then you were in danger of being hurt," Cleppin said.
The state fire marshal bomb squad determined the bomb was a fake. Now, Howard County Police are releasing video hoping to find the suspect along with photos of the black NASA sweatshirt they wore and images of the car they drove -- a black Mercedes Benz sedan.
"We were outside from 10:45 until about 4:30 before we were let back into the building," said Luedtke.
But back at the Bethany Square Plaza, McKensey Cleppin, a receptionist at Signature Salon says she must have walked by the box on her way to work that morning and it scares her to think what could have happened if the bomb was real.
"I must have passed it, I must have that's a little concerning," Cleppin added.
Police are offering a $1,500 reward for any information leading to help identify the suspect.
