A bank robber who told tellers that he was armed with a bomb and later attempted to flee with $58,000 was fatally shot by police in Fullerton after trying to reenter the bank with the alleged explosive, newly released body-worn camera footage shows.
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Around 5 p.m. on March 26, a 911 caller reported that a man in a mask had entered a Wells Fargo Bank, located at 141 W. Bastanchury Road, and demanded money from the teller under threat of a bomb in a white box that he was carrying, according to the critical incident video released by Fullerton police on Thursday. One customer and seven employees were inside the bank when the man entered.
After collecting the money, 57-year-old Scott William Thompson instructed a teller to unlock the back door where he would make his exit. Thompson also told the tellers that he was wearing AirPods and was listening to the first responders’ broadcast.
“He said he’s going to walk out with the money and he’s going to leave the bomb inside,” another teller told the 911 operator. “And if he sees anyone outside he’s going to blow it up.”
On March 26, a 911 caller reported that a man in a mask had entered a Wells Fargo Bank in Fullerton and demanded money from the teller under threat of a bomb in a white box that he was carrying. The bomb was later determined to be fake after Scott William Thompson was fatally by police. (Courtesy of Fullerton Police Department)
As Thomspon exited the bank, he noticed officers across the parking lot and tried to head back inside. Fearing that may have been re-entering the bank with an explosive device, one officer shot Thompson, according to Sgt. Ryan O’Neil.
With the threat of a possible explosive, officers did not approach Thompson and instead sent a robot to check on him and determined the device was built to appear like an explosive, which authorities call a “facsimile device,” O’Neil said.
Thompson was pronounced dead at the scene.
He had prior convictions, including armed bank robbery and another robbery, O’Neil said.
The California Department of Justice is investigating the police shooting. The state agency, under Assembly Bill 1506, regularly investigates an officer-involved shooting resulting in the death of an unarmed person.