Mass Shooting, Bomb Threatened During Union Co. Bank Robbery: Feds

ELIZABETH, NJ – An Essex County man was this week charged in connection with a bank robbery involving a fake explosive and threats of a “mass shooting" earlier this month, federal authorities said.

Sufyan A. Abdullah, 54, of Newark, was charged by complaint with two counts of bank robbery, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said Thursday. Abdullah appeared Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III in Newark federal court before he was detained.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, Abdullah handed a note to a teller at an Elizabeth bank on July 8 claiming to have multiple firearms and threatening a “mass shooting.” He fled the bank without taking any money, Sellinger said.

Abdullah entered another bank on July 15 in Springfield and placed an object, which he claimed to be an explosive, on the counter in front of a teller, demanding money and threatening to blow up the bank.

The teller gave Abdullah cash, and Abdullah said he would blow up the bank if anyone followed him or he heard sirens, Sellinger said. Law enforcement subsequently determined that the explosive device was a fake.

It was not immediately clear how much cash Abdullah took from the Springfield bank.

If convicted, Abdullah faces up to 20 years in prison on each count of bank robbery and a fine of $250,000.