CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WHDH) - Police are investigating a bank robbery in Cambridge Thursday morning and they are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the subject involved.
According to officials, a suspect passed a note demanding cash at a Bank of America on 727 Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge. Officials say he did not get any money before fleeing the scene.
A source is telling 7News that the suspect matches the description of James Morales, the escaped inmate sparking a regional manhunt in the region.
State Police have confirmed that the suspect matches the description of Morales.
The suspect was described as a black man, 5-foot-10, with dark skin and a mustache. He was wearing a black jacket with a gray sweatshirt and a black knit cap..
MBTA Red Line trains were held and searched following the robbery, causing delays. Schools in Somerville held recess indoors as a precaution. Classes were not cancelled.
Morales, 35, escaped the detention center in Central Falls on New Year’s Eve. Morales, a former Army reservist, was charged with stealing 16 guns from a U.S. Army Reserve Center in Worcester in 2015 and is also facing child rape charges in Massachusetts.
Morales was last seen in Framingham, where police said he ditched a car that he stole in Attleborough. Police said the car, found on Gordon Street, had a license plate that had been stolen from an apartment complex on Route 9. A reverse-911 call was sent to residents in Framingham, reminding them to be vigilant. Police said they have received several calls of possible sightings of Morales.
“It’s unnerving, definitely. Very scary,” said resident Donna Acorn.
Juniper Hill Preschool also sheltered in place Tuesday. Administrators sent a letter to parents explaining this was done due to “external safety concerns in our immediate community.”
“I think it was appropriate, it’s a wooded area,” said parent Andrew Kessler. “Kids need to be safe, I want my son to be safe.”
An emergency meeting for the detention’s center board of directors was scheduled for Thursday to discuss security matters after Morales was able to escape. Reached by phone, none of the directors would comment on the meeting.
This is a developing story; stay with 7News for continued updates as they become available.
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