‘Man accused of robbing bank turns himself in’

AMMAN — Police in a Monday said a man, who allegedly robbed a bank in a busy street in Amman earlier in the day by claiming he was carrying explosives, turned himself few hours after escaping with JD16, 000.

The suspect, who was hooded and carrying a bag, reportedly entered the Arab Bank branch at Mecca street around 8:40am and demanded cash, Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said.

“The suspect claimed the bag he was carrying contained explosives and threatened to detonate them if the bank failed to give him money,” the police official told The Jordan Times. 

The police official said the bag was retrieved and the contents were examined and “it was proven that it was not dangerous”.

The suspect then fled on foot, and crossed an empty lot and escaped with a vehicle, official sources added, according to witnesses.

“The police had a good description of the suspect’s vehicle and, after locating where he lived, a force moved to arrest him,” the police official said.

However, the suspect was heading to the police station at the same time, where he turned himself in, Sartawi added.

A shop owner who is 20 metres away from the bank said that police reviewed his surveillance cameras following the robbery.

“My cameras showed a hooded man carrying a bag in his hand and running quickly towards the bank,” the shop owner, who preferred not to be identified, told The Jordan Times.

Another shop owner said he heard screaming coming from the bank’s direction around 8:40am, and thought they were school children.

But the screaming became louder, the 34-year-old told The Jordan Times.  “When I went to check it out, I saw a group of bank employees standing outside screaming about explosives... we were robbed”.

“The employees were terrified and looked very worried and tensed,” the witness added.

The bank manager refused to comment on the incident. The bank was operating normally a few hours following the incident.

Four banks were robbed in various parts of Amman in January and February. Two of the three robbers were arrested and one, who escaped with JD98,000 in cash, remains at large.

Following the third robbery in February, police announced that new security measures had been adopted in cooperation with the bank and other financial institutions, which include strengthening their security measures.

The police official added that “special police forces were tasked with examining all banks and studying the weak spots to ensure there are no security breaches”.