An armed woman walked away with more than $13,000 of her own savings from a bank in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Wednesday, after briefly holding up the branch, according to a local television station.
A video apparently of the woman, whom the local television channel Al Jadeed identified as Sally Hafiz, has been uploaded to Twitter. On the video, Hafiz said she demanded the money to help pay for her sister’s cancer treatment, according to the channel.
NBC News was not able to independently confirm the details reported by Al Jadeed.
Lebanon’s banks have locked most depositors out of their savings since a financial crisis took hold three years ago, leaving much of the population unable to pay for basic needs. According to Reuters, people can withdraw up to $800 a month.
Hafiz was celebrated as a hero across social media in Lebanon, as many in the small crisis-hit country struggle to make ends meet and retrieve their savings. She encouraged others to take similar action to reclaim their savings.
Jenan Mousa, a reporter for Al-Aan TV, also uploaded video of the incident, which showed a black-clad woman standing on a desk in a bank and tucking what appeared to be a gun into the belt of her pants.
Wednesday’s incident comes about a month after a man held up another Beirut commercial bank to withdraw his own funds to treat his sick father.
Around 11 a.m. (4 a.m. ET), Hafiz entered BLOM Bank in Beirut’s Sodeco neighborhood and demanded access to her funds, according to Al Jadeed.
Gun-toting woman holds up Beirut bank, leaves with her own savings
The woman said she needed the money to pay for her sister's cancer treatment. Lebanon’s banks have locked most depositors out of their savings amid the country's financial crisis.
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