Bochum
Suspicious objects in the savings bank: police on a large scale operation
Emergency services in a cordoned off area in downtown Bochum. photo
© Dieter Menne/dpa
Two suspicious objects in a bank branch in Bochum have triggered a major operation. The exact background initially remained unclear – but there was an arrest.
The police have an investigation into two suspicious items in a bank branch Bochum closed off a shopping street and evacuated several shops. There is an unclear danger situation at the Sparkasse branch in the center of the Wattenscheid district, a police spokeswoman said on Tuesday. The suspicious items would be “examined by LKA specialists.” One person was arrested. The situation is taken seriously. “The police are on site with many emergency services.”
The police did not initially say what exactly the suspicious items were or how the items got into the bank branch. However, the emergency services emphasized: “There are no longer any people at or in the bank branch. As things stand, there are no injuries and no danger to uninvolved people.”
Onlookers at the barrier tape
The spokeswoman initially gave no further details about the arrest. The person is now being investigated further.
The shops in the vicinity of the Sparkasse branch were deserted on Tuesday afternoon, and the Wattenscheid pedestrian zone was partially cordoned off. Police officers with helmets and full gear secured the area, as a dpa reporter reported. Some onlookers stood at the barrier tape. At the nearby August-Bebel-Platz, however, traffic ran normally.
Officials called on social media to avoid the area. The operation is still ongoing and an exact end is not foreseeable, the Bochum police wrote on X (formerly Twitter) early in the evening. “The police continue to ask for patience and will inform as soon as the closures are lifted and citizens can return to their homes,” wrote the press office.
The Bochum district of Wattenscheid is located in the west of Bochum city center and directly borders Essen.