Third Amman bank robbery foiled with help of bystanders

AMMAN — Police with the help of bystanders foiled an armed bank robbery in Rusiefeh on Wednesday, the third such robbery this week, official sources said.

The suspect, wearing a hoodie, entered a bank in the Hiteen neighbourhood on Wednesday morning with a gun and attempted to rob it, Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said.

“The security guard who was in the bank obstructed the suspect, who fled from the premises,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

The police official added that the security guard and bystanders “ran after the suspect in the street and, at the same time, a police patrol that had just arrived at the scene managed to subdue the suspect and take him into custody”.

“We also seized the suspect’s gun and referred him to the concerned authorities for further questioning,” the police official added.

The police official said that security had been “beefed up near financial institutes, which contributed to the quick capture of the suspect”.

Wednesday’s incident is the third this week to target local banks in the capital. On Sunday and Tuesday, two local banks were robbed at gun point by suspects who were wearing hoodies and concealing their faces. Both individuals were arrested by police.

In 2018, a money exchange shop and eight banks were targeted in Jordan, with some cases involving armed robbers, while other robbers used fake weapons.

Seven of the nine robbers have been arrested so far, while two suspects, who escaped with over JD105,000 in cash from two banks in the Wihdat neighbourhood and in Irbid, remain at large.