Search ‘ongoing’ for suspected bank robber dressed as woman

AMMAN — Police on Wednesday said they were searching for a man who was wearing women’s clothing who robbed a bank in Irbid at gun point.

The man allegedly entered the bank and pointed a gun at one employee before escaping with an amount of cash, Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said.

“No one was injured in the incident and we have formed a team to follow up on the case,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times, refusing to reveal any further details regarding the incident.

However, several media outlets said the stolen cash amounts to around JD10,000, adding that the suspect was wearing fully covering women’s clothing (khimar) when he robbed the bank.

This incident is the latest incident targeting a financial institute in Jordan.

In May, police foiled a bank robbery attempt in the capital’s Sweifieh neighbourhood after police received a tip-off that a suspicious man was standing near the bank. 

The man was immediately arrested and a search of a briefcase he was carrying revealed the presence of two plastic guns, a mask and gloves. 

Before the attempted bank robbery in May, six banks and one money exchange shop in the capital witnessed similar incidents since the beginning of the year, with some cases involving armed robbers while other robbers used fake weapons for intimidation. 

Six of the seven robbers were arrested so far, while one suspect, who escaped with over JD95,000 in cash from a bank in the Wihdat neighbourhood, remains at large.