BENTLEYVILLE, Pa. — The FBI is involved in an investigation into a possible connection between a bank robbery and two school bomb threats, all of which occurred Wednesday in Bentleyville.
Police said students at Bentworth High School and California High School were evacuated Wednesday morning after bomb threats were called in at both schools.
Bentworth Superintendent Charles Baker said, “We received a phone message that a pressure cooker bomb had been brought into the school by a student.”
“Whenever they said bomb threat, it was scary. Not going to lie, I was afraid,” said Bentworth senior Brenna Ross.
Minutes later, police said the threat at nearby California High School was called in.
California School District Superintendent Brian Jackson told Channel 11 News that the threat at California High School was called in about 10 a.m.
Jackson said the person said they were going to bring a bomb into the high school, but didn’t give a specific time.
While authorities began their investigations at the schools, a bank robbery was reported at the PNC Bank on Wilson Road in Bentleyville at the same time the bomb threat at California High School came in.
Southwest Regional Police Chief John Hartman said, “Things went from zero to 100 real quick.”
Surveillance photos released by the FBI show a man robbing the bank at gunpoint.
The man is described as being in his 20s or 30s, standing about 5 feet 10 inches tall and a thin to medium build. He has a beard and a mustache, and was wearing a baseball cap, hooded sweatshirt and jeans.
Investigators said the man fled the scene in a late model, dark-colored sedan, possibly a Dodge.
Authorities are investigating as to whether the same man who robbed the PNC Bank also called in the bomb threats as a distraction.
“Could they have called in the bomb threat to get us looking here so they could hit the bank? Of course. Do we know that's a fact? No,” said Hartman.
Any information regarding this individual or this bank robbery should be directed to the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office at 412-432-4000, the Southwestern Regional Police Department at 724-929-8484 or the State Police at Belle Vernon at 724-929-6262.