A homeless man tried to hold up the Chase bank at the corner of West 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue yesterday—and the Post says he was "brandishing an old television remote control, demanding money and claiming he had a bomb." Which freaked the bank's employees out enough for them to head to the building's roof.
Witnesses told the Post that Edward Callahan, 55, was first near the ATM area on Columbus, before asking to see a manger. After announcing that he had a bomb (and shouting "This is a robbery!" and "Everybody out of the bank!"), customers fled the bank while employees ran upstairs, triggering an alarm. The manager handed Callahan a bag—it's unclear what was in it—"when cops ran in the front door, and Callahan ran out the back, sources said."
He was caught two stores away—a witness said, "It was funny, because he was an old guy"—and it turned out that all Callahan had besides the remote was a water bottle.