Lebanon: Armed woman breaks into BLOM Bank. A Lebanese woman forced staff at BLOM Bank in Beirut to hand over thousands of dollars of her own money on Wednesday. She was waving a handgun.
The woman live-streamed the activity saying she desperately needs her money for her sister’s cancer treatment.
“I am Sali Hafiz. I am the armed woman who came to the BLOM Bank today, to take my sister’s deposit who is dying in the hospital.”
She added “I did not enter here to take someone else’s money, or set this place on fire. I am here to claim my rights.”
Sali Hafiz reportedly left the bank with $13,000 in cash from her own account. She later told local news that the gun was a toy.
Shortly after, an armed man entered a branch of Bankmed in the city of Aley.
Authorities said he was able to retrieve a portion of his funds before being detained.
Lebanon’s banks have locked most depositors out of their savings since a financial crisis took hold three years ago, leaving many people unable to pay for basic need and furious at the banking sector which they see as a corrupt cartel.
In another incident in August, an armed man held several hostages in a Beirut bank demanding access to his money.
The bank heisters have hailed as heroes on social media in Lebanon.
Gasoline poured in bank
Hafiz and suspected accomplices escaped through a smashed window at the back of the branch before security forces arrived.
“They doused gasoline everywhere inside, and took out a lighter and threatened to light it,” said Nadine Nakhal, a customer at the bank. Further, she said the armed woman threatened to shoot the manager if she did not receive her money.