LYNCHBURG, Va. – A scary scene unfolded in Lynchburg on Wednesday after a man threatened to bomb a coffee shop on Cornerstone Street.
Tommy Clark, the owner of Mission House Coffee said it was frightening for staff and customers.
“We had somebody walk in through the front door,” Clark said. “They threw a package into the air, yelled, ‘It’s a bomb,’ walked towards the counter with their fingers up, and said, ‘This is a robbery,’ and just kind of stand there and smiled for a second.”
Police said Laurence James Murphy IV was arrested and charged with making the threats and attempted robbery.
Clark said he caught it all on surveillance video but declined to share it with 10 News.
“It’s thrilling footage of a guy walking in and throwing a package,” Clark said. “At the same time, I know looking at the emotional response of people who may have been in here, I just don’t want a video floating around of what could have been terrorizing for them.”
Lynchburg Police said Murphy also made threats to Liberty University and Hill City Pharmacy.
Liberty University has yet to respond to our request for comment. A representative of Hill City Pharmacy said that Murphy walked into their store on Wednesday too, but they just called him a cab.
Police were unavailable for an interview on Thursday. They tell us this is an ongoing investigation.
Clark said he’s just thankful no one was hurt, nothing was stolen, and he hopes the man gets help and is held accountable.
“Mission House Coffee has been around for five years, founded on the premise of showing love, care and acceptance to everybody we come in contact with,” Clark said. “This was just an unfortunate way we could do that.”