Police: Man Wearing Creepy, 'Realistic' Mask Passes School Bomb Threats Note At Restaurant, In Hopes Of Robbing Local Bank
NORTH HUNTINGDON, Pa. (KDKA) - Police said a man wearing a realistic mask passed a note at a local restaurant that threatened a pair of local schools, with the intention of robbing a bank.
Officials said a man, identified as 35-year-old Luke Dell from Beavercreek's Ohio, walked into the Bob Evans on Route 30 in North Huntingdon Township on Tuesday wearing the mask.
He passed a note to a worker that said there was an active shooter threat and multiple bombs at Norwin and Jeannette High Schools, police said.
After passing the note, Dell was seen leaving the restaurant in a black Dodge Charger, which was later seen by a police officer.
Dell was pulled over and admitted he passed the note in order to get police officers to respond to the threats at the schools, officials said. Dell's license plate was stolen from another car.
WATCH: Video shows Luke Dell being arrested while wearing a realistic mask.
Police said Dell planned to rob a bank in the Circleville area. He never made it to the bank. No weapons or explosives were found in Dell's car.
The mask Dell wore made him look twice his age.
"The mask was a very high-quality mask, made him look like he was in his late 60s, early 70s when in fact he was a 35-year-old male," North Huntingdon Police Chief Robert Rizzo.
Dell is facing charges — including terroristic threats, risking catastrophe, threat to use weapons of mass destruction and left of a license plate.
As a precaution, all Norwin schools were on a modified lockdown as police investigated Tuesday morning. The lockdown was later lifted and high school students were dismissed early.
Before a suspect was located, the school district's website says the North Huntingdon Township Police Department advised a modified lockdown to be extended to all buildings in the district.
During a modified lockdown, children are not allowed to be dismissed to parents and parents are not allowed to enter the building.
Police and bomb-sniffing dogs searched the high school.
Stay with KDKA.com for the latest on this developing story.
