Monday, October 19, 2009

A Friendly, God-Fearing Bank Robber

This one is bound to make national news. From the Indy Star report:
A robber holding a gun on an Advance America cashier Monday apologized to the woman for his actions, but went ahead with his robbery even after praying with the victim.

"He said that he hated to have to do this, but times were hard and he had no choice," cashier Angela Montez, 43, told police according to a police report.

...

The man told Montez he had a 2-year-old child to support and then asked Montez to pray with him about overcoming his hard ships. The two got down on their knees and prayed, remaining on their knees for nearly 10 minutes, police said.

In response to the woman's kindness, the man took a bullet out of his handgun and gave it to her, according to the report, telling the clerk it was his only bullet and promising not to hurt her. He then asked Montez for a hug.

I have nothing profound to say to this. It strikes me as some weird kind of goofy desperation, the kind of reality that is more bizarre than any creative fiction could be. Dig this:
The man took $20 in $5 bills from the cash drawer, according to the report -- leaving the rest of the cash in the drawer.

Twenty bucks. Astonishing. I'm sure there is political spin waiting to happen. I have nothing.

1 comment:

Doug said...

Weird. Seems like you could just ask for $20 (outside of downtown Indy, if I understand correctly, with its anti-panhandling ordinance).

I don't know this particular individual's motivations, but I guess it seems like begging would bruise your pride more than robbing a store while putting on a big display of piety.