PLACENTIA, Calif. -- At least one robber entered a Bank of America branch New Year's Eve and fled with money and two hostages, apparently leaving behind a bomb and 28 people, including bank employees and customers, police said.
The man shot himself following a car chase with police and was seriously wounded, said Fullerton police Sgt. Hal Stevens.
The man's identity was not immediately available.
The two hostages and the 28 people in the bank were reportedly uninjured, FBI spokesman John Hoos said. It was not known whether any robbers were also in the bank.
'We're still at a kind of standoff situation,' Stevens said.
The robbery occurred about 4:30 p.m. when at least one robber entered the Bank of America branch, took an undetermined amount of cash and left a bag, saying there was a bomb inside, Hoos said.
There were unconfirmed reports of explosions during the robbery, Stevens said.
Outside the bank, the suspect commandeered a car containing two women and fled, Hoos said.
Fullerton police cornered the alleged robber on an exit ramp on the northbound Orange Freeway a few minutes after he fled the bank, Stevens said.
The man apparently shot himself when confronted by police, Stevens said. The alleged robber was alone in the car when he shot himself. Police could not immediately explain what happened to the two women who had been in the car when it was commandeered.
The man was taken to the University of California at Irvine Medical Center in serious condition, Hoos said.
Officers found a bag at one door of the bank and summoned the Orange County Sheriff's Department bomb squad.
Special Weapons And Tactics teams from Placentia, the Orange County Sheriff's Department and the FBI were at the bank, as well as a Fullerton police hostage rescue team.
