A rare bank robbery was thwarted last month in southwestern China when security guards tackled the suspect at the scene, according to an online media report published against the backdrop of a series of random killings in recent months.
The Paper reported on Friday that staff at a Bank of China branch, in the small city of Guangan in Sichuan province, noticed that a man was about to “launch an illegal activity” and called the police.
A member of staff evacuated customers while security guards Zhang Houcheng and Wu Han from the Guangan Investment Group observed the suspect from a distance, in accordance with the emergency plan.
When the suspect was not expecting it, Zhang and Wu took him down without any casualties or property loss, according to the article, which said the incident took place on October 7.
The suspect, also surnamed Zhang, was detained by the local Linshui county police who praised the security guards for their actions, the article said. No other details were given and it is unknown if he was armed or what his alleged scheme entailed.
Bank robberies are not common in China. The last known case happened in November 2022, when Taian police in eastern China’s Shandong province announced that an armed suspect was holding a hostage at a bank he had attempted to rob.
In that incident, after a stalemate that lasted an hour and included repeated warnings, the police shot the suspect dead and rescued the hostage.
