Savage Woman Caught in Lockdown During Downtown Minneapolis Bomb Threat

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Downtown Minneapolis was put under a police lockdown after a man allegedly threatened to blow up a bank Friday afternoon—and one local resident was caught in the ensuing confusion.

According to a report by WCCO-TV, the Gaviidae Common building was reportedly evacuated after a man made a threat against the M & I Bank. The bank is located near the intersection of Sixth Street and Nicollet Avenue. In a strange twist, the man refused to negotiate until he could see a TV truck, so the Minneapolis PD allowed WCCO to drive into the lockdown perimeter, FOX 9 reports. 

Minneapolis Police now have the man in custody. As yet, his name has not been released.

Joanne Koenig who lives in the Prior Lake/Savage area and works downtown, not only witnessed it, but her building was on lockdown while police arrested the man.

Koenig told Patch she works on the 20th floor of RBC Plaza, at 60 S. Sixth St.

She said she was shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue from about 11 a.m. to noon today and didn't see anything unusual. But at around 12:30 p.m. when she was back at work, her usual day became very unusual:

My colleagues came running in saying that Nicollet was blocked off and a security guard told one of them there was a bomb threat at M & I Bank. We watched all the activity from our birds eye view and noticed several officers escorting a man in handcuffs out of the M & I building. Our building was on lockdown until about 10 minutes ago (1:50 p.m.) and we got the all clear.

Police say the incident lasted 90 minutes and that Gaviidae Commons has reopened. The streets which had been blocked off have also reopened.

Koenig said it was nerve-wracking to be locked down, especially considering it was a bomb threat.

"All we wanted to do was get out of there and away from the situation!" she said.

Were you there? Tell us about it. Contact Local Editor Clare Kennedy at clare.kennedy@patch.com.