Police: Man tells restaurant worker he has a bomb, works for Taliban

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Police say a man told a hostess at Red Lobster he worked for the Taliban and had a bomb before requesting a booth seat by a window. 

The Largo Police Department says the man told the hostess, "Just to make you smile, I work for the Taliban and I have a bomb in this bag."

LPD says the man later admitted there was no bomb and said it was a joke, but no one was laughing.

LPD says an African American man carrying a black bag, accompanied by a woman, came into the Red Lobster restaurant at the Largo Mall Thursday.

After making the statement to the hostess, she seated the pair in a booth away from other customers, and then called the police. 

Customers and staff were evacuated through a side door and officers set a perimeter around the building.

At 3:20 p.m., the suspect came out of the front door.

He told officers that there was nothing in the bag and that he was just joking.

The man was arrested and Tampa Bomb Squad officers are checking the bag.