M&I Bank Suspect Charged With Terroristic Threats
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Authorities have charged the man in connection with a threat made against a downtown Minneapolis bank Friday afternoon.
Philip James Pariso, 33, was charged Monday with two counts of terroristic threats and two counts of kidnapping, according to police.
Officers say on Friday, Pariso entered the crowded M&I Bank on 6th Street and Nicollet Avenue. He told employees that he wanted to open an account. Two employees began to assist him. A few moments later, he announced that he had a weapon and a bomb.
When officers arrived, they found Pariso with the two employees. Officers began to talk with the suspect and the employees escaped. That's when Minneapolis officers, Hennepin County deputies and Metro Transit officers began evacuating hundreds of workers and customers.
Police say the incident lasted 90 minutes before Pariso surrendered to hostage negotiators. No one was hurt in the incident.
Before the incident, Pariso came to the WCCO-TV studios at 11th Street and Nicollet Avenue and asked to speak with a reporter but was turned away. Shortly thereafter, a man -- believed to be the same man from before -- called WCCO-TV and asked again to speak with a reporter. He said if his story wasn't heard, WCCO-TV would hear about it.
WCCO-TV surveillance video shows that the man was trying to enter the WCCO-TV building just after 10 a.m. Friday. That man was identified by police as the same man taken into custody at the Gaviidae Building scene.
