TORONTO, March 26 (UPI) -- A Toronto man was recovering from surgery Wednesday after being shot at least three times by police investigating a bank robbery, police said.

The unidentified man went into a north-end bank around 3 p.m. Tuesday and allegedly demanded cash from a teller and said he had an explosive device, the Toronto Sun reported.

Police responded to a silent alarm and when a man left the bank carrying two plastic bags, he was shot, police said. By law, the Special Investigations Unit was dispatched, and Inspector Frank Phillips said eight officers were trying to determine what led to the shooting.

One bank employee later described the "explosive" as a plastic remote garage door opener but police wouldn't confirm what a robotic device recovered, the Sun said.

Earlier Tuesday, three other banks in the city were held up, the Toronto Star said. In each case, the bandit wore a fake beard and wore a "fat suit," but police wouldn't say whether the man who was shot in the fourth stickup was a suspect in the first three heists, the Star said.