CAPE CORAL, Fla. — A bomb scare at a Southwest Florida bank turned out to be a false alarm.
The Lee County Bomb Squad responded to the Regions Bank on Cape Coral Parkway and Southwest 48th Terrace Saturday afternoon after they got reports of a possible pipe bomb.
It turned out to be a metal pipe left in the driveway from an old sign. The bank’s surveillance footage revealed a teenager was holding the sign Thursday evening and the sign fell off the pipe. The teen left the pipe in the bank’s driveway and it was still there today.
Gary and Cathy Horton drove to Walgreens on Cape Coral Parkway Saturday afternoon, but it was blocked off.
“We saw a couple fire trucks (and police). So we thought there was a fire,” Gary Horton said. “We didn’t know what was going on.”
Horton said she’s relieved to know they investigated anyway.
“It is concerning to hear about any type of explosion type thing,” she said.
They also said Walgreens employees were evacuated to a nearby McDonalds for three hours. One employee even told them about a loud bang.
“She said she had heard there was an explosion, but apparently not,” said Horton.
There was a loud noise, but not an explosion. Cape Coral Police said it was the bomb squad shooting at the pipe to make sure it wasn’t explosive.
The Hortons said they weren’t shocked to hear about the scare at Regions Bank today. They said threats like this are starting to become the new norm.
“I was not surprised to hear that there could be a possible explosion because of all the things on the news that have been happening recently,” said Horton referring to the attempted pipe bomb deliveries made to critics of the president.
A few hours later they were able to return to Walgreens for their trip.
