A victim of a reported home invasion in Bristol, Connecticut, was found outside of the credit union where he works with what appeared to be an explosive device strapped to his body, authorities said Monday.
The victim, identified as Matthew Yussman, chief financial officer of Achieve Financial Credit Union, told police that multiple attackers broke into his home Monday morning and attached a device — subsequently believed to be fake, according to a law enforcement source — to his body.
A similar device was also strapped to Yussman’s mother, who was also in the home at the time of the break-in, the law enforcement source said.
The suspects then ordered Yussman to go to the credit union in nearby New Britain and clean out its vault, according to the source. On the way to the credit union, he called a friend and reported what was happening, the source said.
Authorities responded, evacuating area residents, closing schools and shutting streets near the credit union, which was closed at the time of the incident.
Officers found Yussman in a car, police said. He was cooperative, and shortly before noon members of the Connecticut bomb squad declared the device safe and turned it over to the FBI.
“There is no question that this was a scary situation,” said New Britain Mayor Erin E. Stewart.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
New Britain Police Chief James Wardwell said the FBI will analyze the device further, but declined to say whether the bomb was fake, citing the ongoing investigation.
Bristol Police on Tuesday said they are seeking two men of medium build who were wearing dark clothing, ski masks and goggles during the home invasion. At least one of the men is white, and they spoke in “distinct accents that were not consistent with being native to Connecticut.”
The suspects possibly were riding in a white, older-model four-door Mazda and might have been “in the Tunxis Mead and the area of Route 10 in Farmington during the morning of February 23,” police said in a statement.
New Britain police asked anyone with information to call the department’s tip line at 860-826-3199.
