Five people who were held hostage inside of a St. Cloud bank on Thursday escaped unharmed as a man was taken into custody eight hours after the incident began.
St. Cloud police received a call just before 2 p.m. Thursday about a disgruntled man inside of the Wells Fargo bank branch at 200-33rd Ave. S.
"The branch manager called because he was concerned for his own safety, the safety of the customers, and the safety of his own employees inside of the bank," said St. Cloud Police Chief Blair Anderson. "A short time later we received a panic alarm indicating a bank robbery was in process."
When police arrived, they made contact with the suspect identified as 35-year-old Ray Reco McNeary.
"We have had numerous contacts with this individual dating back nearly a decade," Anderson said. "That includes violent crime."
McNeary told police to call the FBI and the standoff began.
An FBI tactical team and a crisis negotiation team spent hours communicating with McNeary.
"We had contact with the suspect in every way process throughout the incident," added Anderson. "That includes writing notes and putting them up against the drive-thru window."
Some of the employees that were held hostage were released by McNeary, others took matters into their own hands and made a dash towards the door to escape.
The final hostage was seen bursting through the doors as heavily armed officers swarmed the building.
"As he was running towards the door, both tactical units from the FBI and the St. Cloud Police Department made simultaneous entry and took the suspect into custody without incident."
Investigators have not said whether or not McNeary had a weapon. Anderson added that there were possible threats made by McNeary to the hostages, but did not elaborate when questioned.
Stearns County Attorney Janelle Kendall said during Thursday night that they are working with the U.S. Attorney's Office regarding which agency will file charges.
McNeary could face charges of bank robbery and kidnapping.
