An armed man who on Wednesday, February 22, robbed a branch of Tatra Banka on Tupolevova Street in the Bratislava borough of Petržalka later shot and killed himself when police officers began chasing him, Bratislava Police spokesperson Petra Hrašková said later in the day, the TASR newswire reported.
The robber, wearing a mask, robbed the bank at around 8:50, leaving with around €5,000 in cash. The two customers at the branch at the time of the robbery were not hurt. After the perpetrator left the bank, one of the bank's employees began pursuing him. A plain-clothes police officer who was coincidentally nearby called on the man to halt or face the consequences. As the robber entered Markova Street, the officer fired a warning shot. A member of a police patrol that had arrived by that time also fired a warning shot.
The incident climaxed near Chorvátske Rameno. "When the suspect realised he was surrounded by police officers, he suddenly knelt down, put the gun to his head and fired," said Hrašková.
Later in the day, Hrašková said police had identified the man but described him only as Milan, 47, from Bratislava. She said the man legally owned the gun used in the robbery and suicide, and had no previous criminal convictions.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
