published20. September 2022, 17:22
GeorgiaPolice storm bank – robber arrested, hostages safe
A hostage drama was taking place in the Georgian city of Kutaisi. In addition to a demand for money, the robber also wanted a helicopter to fly abroad. After regarding eight hours, the police ended the hostage-taking.
According to the hostages, the man is said to be demanding two million dollars, a helicopter and a Russian flag.
Screenshot/Twitter
According to the hostage-taker, the bank is equipped with explosive devices.
Screenshot/Twitter
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In Georgia, a man holed himself up in a bank and took 12 hostages.
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According to the man in military uniform, the building is booby-trapped.
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He demands two million dollars, a helicopter and a Russian flag.
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After eight hours, the police stormed the bank and caught the man.
An armed man in Georgia wanted to extort millions by taking hostages in a bank. According to local media, the man had holed up with twelve hostages in the branch of the Bank of Georgia in the city of Kutaisi, the Interior Ministry of the South Caucasus country said on Tuesday. He apparently demanded two million dollars, a helicopter to be able to leave the country and a Russian flag. The Georgian police confirmed a corresponding operation, officials were on site for hours. Investigations were initiated into, among other things, “hostage-taking and acts of terrorism”.
Cell phone video taken by one of the hostages released by independent broadcaster Mtawari TV showed two suspected IEDs near the bank’s front door. According to one hostage, the gunman claimed they were bombs that would explode as soon as the door was opened.
Robber threatens with explosive devices
Another video shows an armed and masked man in military uniform inside the bank. A woman’s voice says: “He demands two million dollars within three hours.” The man has a grenade and there are “bombs that will explode”.
The all-clear came in the late followingnoon: according to the portal netgazeti.ge Officials stormed the bank and arrested the robber. The hostages were apparently not injured.
Almost two years ago, a gunman took 43 hostages at a Bank of Georgia branch in the western city of Zugdidi. He escaped with an undisclosed amount of money, and there is no trace of him to this day. The hostages were released unharmed.
(AFP/bho)
