Gunman holds Beirut bank hostage and threatens to set himself on fire unless they hand over $200,000

An enraged Lebanese man armed with a shogun is holding bank staff hostage in Beirut demanding they hand over $200,000 in his frozen account.

The gunman has threatened to set himself ablaze and has fired three warning shots at the Federal Bank in Beirut, where withdrawal limits are in place due to the dire economic situation across the country.

The man was carrying a canister of gasoline and is holding up to seven employees hostage in his bid to access his money which is needed to pay for his father’s hospital bills, it was claimed.

Despite the tense standoff, protesters have gathered in his support, such is the public anger against the banks amid the financial meltdown. 

An armed man demanding deposits frozen by his bank took an unspecified number of hostages

Lebanon’s cash-strapped banks since late 2019 have implemented strict withdrawal limits on foreign currency assets

An aggrieved Lebanese man (pictured) armed with a shogun is holding bank staff hostage in Beirut demanding they hand over $200,000 in his frozen account

The gunman has threatened to set himself ablaze and has fired three warning shots at the Federal Bank in Beirut

‘He demanded access to around $200,000 he had in his bank account and when the employee refused the request, he began screaming that his relatives were in the hospital. Then he pulled out the gun,’ a security source said. 

Some customers in the bank managed to flee before he shut the doors on the rest, said the source, who was not able to specify how many clients or employees were in the branch.

At least one elderly man was released from the bank because of his age and government negotiators were deployed to begin talks with the hostage taker, the interior ministry said.  

Lebanon’s cash-strapped banks since late 2019 have implemented strict withdrawal limits on foreign currency assets, effectively evaporating the savings of many Lebanese. 

Army soldiers and security forces stand guard outside a Federal Bank branch in Lebanon’s capital Beirut

The Lebanese Red Cross told Reuters that they had deployed an ambulance on site but had yet to treat anyone

Lebanese army soldiers, police officers from the country’s Internal Security Forces, and intelligence agents have surrounded the area

The country today is suffering from the worst economic crisis in its modern history, where three-quarters of the population have plunged into poverty, and the value of the Lebanese pound has declined by over 90 per cent against the U.S. dollar.

Lebanese army soldiers, police officers from the country’s Internal Security Forces, and intelligence agents have surrounded the area. 

The Lebanese Red Cross told Reuters that they had deployed an ambulance on site but had yet to treat anyone.

A Reuters witness could see a bearded man in a black shirt behind the gated entrance to the bank speaking to several men in plainclothes on the outside.

‘Let them give me back my money!’ he was heard telling them.

A crowd gathered outside the bank, many of them chanting, ‘Down with the rule of the banks!’

The man was carrying a canister of gasoline and is holding up to seven employees hostage

The hostage situation has sparked protests in support of the gunman due to the people’s anger at the banks

Officers are talking to the armed man to reach a settlement, but have so far been unsuccessful.

Cellphone video footage shows the disgruntled man with his shotgun, demanding his money back. 

In another video, two police officers behind the locked bank entrance asked the man to release at least one of the hostages, but he refused.

A customer at the bank who fled the building as the situation escalated, told local media that the man was demanding to withdraw $2,000 dollars to pay for his hospitalised fathers medical bills.

In January, a coffee shop owner successfully withdrew $50,000 trapped in a bank branch in eastern Lebanon after holding bank staff hostage, and threatening to kill them.

Lebanon has yet to implement formal capital controls since the onset of the economic crisis.