The branch of the Federal Bank on Hamra Street in Beirut was stormed and hostage-taking, including employees and dealers, by unknown persons. According to eyewitnesses, the attacker fired 3 warning shots before taking the hostages and that he had an incendiary substance with which he threatened to set himself on fire and set the bank on fire.
The Lebanese website Saida Online said the bank dealers’ depositor demanded his money, which amounted to $209,000, before shooting and taking hostages.
The Lebanese Public Security Forces received a report of an armed robbery, and Lebanese Army teams moved into the area of the targeted bank branch and cordoned off the site.
A succession of depositors flocked to the site, whose bank deposits were undermined by recent procedures.
