Pine Bush Man Threatens To Shoot Up Bank In Ellenville: Police

ELLENVILLE, NY — A Pine Bush man was arrested after being accused of threatening to shoot up a bank.

The Village of Ellenville Police Department said, shortly before 11 a.m. Tuesday, officers were sent to the M&T Bank on Route 209 in Ellenville for a report of an "irate customer."

Officers said the man made statements to bank employees that he was coming back to shoot up the bank, and if they sent police to his house, he would shoot it out with them.

Bank officials immediately placed the bank on lock down, and it was secured by the police.

An investigation identified the man as Guy Matthew Lorenz, 54, of Pine Bush, and found that, through his job, he had previously obtained permits for explosives, police said.

As a result, and out of an abundance of caution, the bank was closed, and it reopened after the man was in custody, according to authorities.

Lorenz was found at his home by the Ellenville police with assistance of the Ulster County Sheriff Department Detective Division and K-9 officers.

He surrendered without incident, police said, and he was taken to the police department.

Lorenz was charged with felony making a terroristic threat.

After arraignment, he was released without bail to return to the Town of Wawarsing Court Wednesday.

Ellenville Police Chief Philip Mattracion said, in the world and climate in which we are living, where mass shootings are becoming the norm rather the exception, law enforcement cannot ignore any instance where these types of threats are made, even if made out of frustration or the heat of the moment.

“There is no way to know for certain if the threat is real until it is completely vetted out,” he said.

In this particular case, Mattracion said, innocent employees were obviously distraught by the man’s actions, and there were a lot of resources brought to bear.

“And make no mistake about it,” he said, “we will continue without hesitation to bring these resources to bear in every single instance that a threat is received of this nature, to ensure that the innocent lives of civilians and law enforcement are never jeopardized.”