Attempted Silverdale bank robbery involves standoff

An attempted robbery occurred at a Silverdale bank Thursday afternoon. There were no reported injuries.

An attempted robbery occurred at a Silverdale bank Thursday afternoon. There were no reported injuries.

Silverdale Way was blocked off as many Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicles surrounded KeyBank, where the attempted robbery was occurring, at about 3 p.m. There was a potential bomb threat. A sheriff’s deputy on scene said that all the employees of the bank were let out and that there was one female suspect. Another sheriff’s deputy at the scene said that the “blast radius” was a concern — if a bomb were involved, glass could shatter a far distance.

Nino Bokuku, 37, said he got off work at the Olive Garden at 3 p.m. and traffic was backed up on Randall Way. He parked his car in the parking lot of Grocery Outlet, across the street from KeyBank, and was later told by a sheriff’s deputy to move his car further away.

“He told me the area needed to be cleared. It’s surprising to me that something like this would happen in the middle of the day,” Bokuku said.

Nearby businesses evacuated or closed for the day.

Sharon Turner, 59, who had intended to go shopping at Grocery Outlet thought that there was a car wreck that had caused all the traffic backup.

“You never think nothing like this would happen,” she said. “I’ve lived here all my life.”

The Bremerton Police Department and the Washington State Patrol assisted on scene. Authorities remained standing by at 4:10 p.m.