Armed bank robbery in Bistrita, northern Romania

An unidentified man entered a bank in Bistrita, northern Romania, and managed to steal some money after threatening the staff and the clients with a gun, on Tuesday morning, July 5. The Police are currently trying to find him. The man entered the bank unit in the morning, positioned himself in one of lines formed in the bank, and just seconds after started shouting: “Do not move, this is a robbery!" the local media reports. One of the women in the bank managed to run away and alert a salesperson from a newspaper stand located nearby. The saleswoman was the one who called the police. The woman who managed to escape the bank told the Police that she saw the thief running after the robbery. Fortunately, none of the persons in the bank were injured. The robbery, which lasted less than a minute, took place at a Raiffeisen Bank unit, reports local Bistriteanul.ro. The thief was about 30 years old and was wearing sunglasses and a hat. The Police didn’t reveal the exact amount of money the man managed to steal from the bank, but the local media estimates that he got away with about RON 19,000 (EUR 4,000). The robbery took place just ten minutes before the bank was supposed to get a significant amount of cash. The incident comes one month after a man armed with a rubber bullet gun tried to rob a BRD unit in Bucharest. However, this thief ran off empty handed after the bank cashier pushed the panic button. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com