Kapahulu Avenue near Campbell Avenue was closed for hours Thursday while police investigated a bomb threat and attempted bank robbery.

The incident began at about 1 p.m. when a man walked into the Bank of Hawaii on Kalakaua Avenue and alluded to having a bomb while trying to rob the bank, police said.

Police were investigating whether the suspect fled with cash.

Police Lt. Clinton Sukekane said the man was spotted a short time later near Rainbow Drive-In on Kapahulu Avenue. Bystanders said police tackled the man adjacent to the bike path along the Ala Wai Golf Course.

Police arrested the 45-year-old man, of no local address, at 2:18 p.m. for investigation of first-degree robbery.

After the man was detained, police called in a bomb unit to determine whether the man’s bag was dangerous and closed Kapahulu Avenue between Leahi and Campbell avenues at about 2:40 p.m.

The closure shuttered several Kapahulu Avenue businesses and created confusion for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians forced to use alternate routes.

Bailey’s Antiques, across the street from the suspicious bag, had to shut its doors, and one employee said police told her to stay inside. Ann Lindsey said she was staying in the back of the store because there is a lot of glass in the store’s front.

“It’s scary,” she said by phone. “Hopefully, it’s not what they say it is.”

The bomb unit took an X-ray photo of the backpack, which sat against the golf course fence, and determined that it was harmless, police said. An officer said the bag contained clothes.

Police began reopening the road at about 5 p.m.