An 80-year-old Italian woman whose loan request was turned down brandished a kitchen knife on Monday and ordered bank officials to turn over their tills, reported Italian news agency Ansa.
According to bank employees and police in the northern Italian port city of Genoa, the woman initially asked for a loan of €2 000 to €3 000, but was told that the sum was too high.
”You don’t have anything to lend me? Then give me all of it!” replied the pensioner, who then pulled a kitchen knife from her handbag.
Rather than risk the woman’s ire, the bank manager said he preferred to pull the bank alarm and allow police to dissuade her from her act.
The woman, who lost her husband several years ago, said she could no longer make ends meet with the rising cost of living.
While an inquiry into the affair has been opened, the bank gave no indication of whether it would press charges. — Sapa-AFP