(CARY) -- Cary authorities say the man who was shot and killed during a hostage situation on Thursday afternoon at a Wachovia bank branch was unarmed. But, police defended the actions taken during the three hour standoff.

Cary police announced Sunday that the ongoing investigations into the hostage situation at Wachovia Bank on February 10 have revealed that 19 year old Devon Mitchell of Pony Club Circle in Cary was not armed when he entered the branch located at 10050 Green Level Church Road just before 3 p.m. and held several people against their will for three hours.

“Despite what the 911 call reported, despite what he said to the hostages, despite what he told our hostage negotiator, despite what we all thought we saw when he came out of the bank with something pointed at one of the hostages’ head, we know now that there was no gun,”  said Town of Cary Police Chief Pat Bazemore.

Mitchell died at the scene from shots fired by four Town of Cary police officers and one Wake County Sheriff’s Office deputy when he exited the bank three hours after the start of the incident, pointing what appeared to be a handgun at one of the hostages. After days of intense searching and investigation, police concluded Saturday evening that Mitchell did not have a weapon.

“This information does not change that our officers did exactly what they were trained to do and what they were expected to do. And I am confident that the investigations into the incident will bear this out,” said Bazemore. “Why Devon set all this in motion, why he wanted us all to believe that he had a weapon and was prepared to kill with it are questions we will never have the answers to. But it’s clear that that’s what Devon wanted.”

To help prevent future incidents, Bazemore asked citizens and the media to join her in spreading the word that help is available. “If someone you know is in trouble, do something about it now.   Don’t wait,” she said.