Korean Man Attempts To Rob A Bank With A Toy Gun
A Korean man in his 30s tried to rob a bank in Busan with a toy water gun.
On February 11, KST, the Busan Gijang Police Station announced that they had applied for an arrest warrant for Mr. A on charges of attempted robbery. According to the police reports, he walked into a bank in Gijang-gun on February 10, at around 10:58 a.m., and tried to rob the place.
Mr. A covered his face with a fur hat and a scarf, pretending to be holding a gun. But in reality, he was carrying a dinosaur-shaped toy water gun covered in a black plastic bag. He shouted at the employees and the customers inside the bank to get out immediately. He then demanded that an employee put all the 50,000 KRW bills in the travel bag he was carrying.
While the robbery was ongoing, a 53-year-old customer named Park Cheon Gyu grabbed Mr. A’s gun and tackled him. Several of the bank employees rushed at them and subdued Mr. A before turning him over to the police. According to reports, the robbery lasted for only two minutes.
The police believe that Mr. A committed the crime due to financial difficulties. Mr. A is a Busan native who moved his family from Seoul back to his hometown five years ago after his business failed. He was also unable to find a new job and has been unemployed for five years.
He reportedly told the police that he was going through extreme financial difficulties and had been kicked out of the small officetel where he lived due to not being able to pay his utility bills. The toy gun he used in the robbery was confirmed to be his son’s, who is just eight years old. A police officer told media outlets that Mr. A seemed to have committed the crime because of his son, who starts elementary school this year and needs many things for school that are difficult for his father to afford.
Park Cheon Gyu, the customer who helped take down Mr. A, reportedly served as a special forces operative in the military. The police plan to present him with a certificate of commendation for subduing the suspect.
