(LEAD) Gunman robs agricultural cooperative bank

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GYEONGSAN, South Korea, April 20 (Yonhap) -- An unidentified armed man escaped with a sack of money after robbing a bank branch of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation in the southeastern city of Gyeongsan on Thursday, police said.

Around 11:55 a.m., the burglar wearing a mask and toting a gun entered the branch and fired a shot, demanding that tellers at the branch of the cooperative, also known as Nonghyup, put money into a sack he had brought with him. He fled the scene on a bicycle after the tellers complied with his order.

No one was hit by the shot, fired with what is believed to be a homemade gun, as the suspect was not aiming at anyone, police said. At the time of the crime, one male and two females were working at the branch.

Police believe the robbery suspect is a foreigner as witnesses said his Korean was poor. They are searching the area around the branch and looking into how much money the suspect stole.

namsh@yna.co.kr
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