This morning, officers from the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) Central Patrol Division responded to Central Bank at 2301 Independence Ave. on a call of a suspicious package.

Officers contacted the employees who said the suspect had contacted the bank and stated he was on his way to the bank with a brief case and he wanted money.

The suspect arrived in his vehicle in the drive-thru and held out a brief case. The suspect requested the teller fill the brief case up, but saw other employees so he dropped the brief case and left.

KCPD Sgt. Littlejohn told the Northeast News that the Bomb and Arson Unit arrived at the scene to investigate around 10:45 a.m. They x-rayed the brief case and determined it was empty.

Independence Avenue was closed in both directions between Olive and Park.

Earlier today, Littlejohn said police know who the suspect is and are trying to locate him, and consider him dangerous. The suspect is connected to employees at the bank.

“I know they worked on his address a little bit, and they’re trying to get people to go find him right now,” Littlejohn said.

The bank and surrounding businesses were evacuated, including Pendleton Arts Block, but not Scuola Vita Nuova Charter School. Officers on the scene had no timeline to report on reopening.

“We’re obviously going to treat it as if it’s a legitimate threat until they tell us otherwise,” Littlejohn said.

This article was updated at 4:54 on Tuesday to reflect new information.