Police officer robs gold shops ‘for poor people’

He took an AK rifle to the gold shops at Dong Ba Market at around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, threatened the staff and shot at the glass shelves where gold items were displayed.

He took the items, threw them into the street, and shouted: “Gold for the poor,” according to eyewitnesses at the shops and the market.

A glass shelf of Hoang Duc gold shop at Dong Ba Market in Thua Thien-Hue Province was shot by a male suspect who claimed to get the gold for the poor, July 31, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Vo Thanh

He repeated the action of taking the gold items and throwing them into the street for around 10 minutes before leaving the scene, walking along Tran Hung Dao Street in front of the market to reach a park, where he took some rest and called his family on his smartphone, according to the police.

He had the gun with him until he arrived at the park.

As he left the market, many people rushed to the scene to pick up the gold.

At around 2 p.m., he dropped the gun and surrendered.

He has been identified as Ngo Van Quoc, an officer working at a prison in Thua Thien-Hue, Colonel Duong Van Thoan, chief of staff of the province’s Police Department, said Monday.

Nguyen Van Quoc calls his family as he sits at a park after robbing two gold shops in Thua Thien-Hue Province, July 31, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Van An

Police are calling everyone that had picked up the gold to give them back, Thoan said.

He added that they are also extracting footage from security cameras at the market and Tran Hung Dao Street to identify the gold pickers.

The case is investigated further.

 

 

Police officer robs gold shops ‘for poor people’

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