Bank robber arrested in Hrasno, search underway for trio from Ilidža who killed bystander

Two Raiffeisen bank branches were robbed in Sarajevo this morning, one in Ilidža and the other in Hrasno. Unfortunately, one person died after the robbers injured a bystander/cyclist in Ilidža, reports the BH News Agency Patria.

The Sarajevo Canton Ministry of Internal Affairs revealed details of these two brutal robberies today.

- Around 09:05 AM, in Azize Šaćirbegović Street, Novo Sarajevo Municipality, unknown perpetrators committed the crime of robbery against employees at a Raiffeisen bank branch. At that time, a masked unknown perpetrator, threatening with a pistol, stole a large sum of money in various denominations and currencies, and then fled in an unknown direction.

Thanks to a swift intervention by police officers of the II Police Directorate, the perpetrator of the aforementioned crime was located and apprehended in a taxi vehicle at a taxi stand on Bulevar Meše Selimovića Street, Novo Sarajevo Municipality. He was arrested, and checks revealed him to be H.E., born in 1989 in Sarajevo, where he resides. The following were found and seized from him: the stolen money, a "TT" pistol, caliber 7.62 mm, with a round in the chamber, gloves, and a "balaclava" type mask. Checks revealed that H.E. has been registered as a perpetrator of multiple criminal offenses in the past.

The prosecutor of the Cantonal Prosecutor's Office in Sarajevo was informed of the above, and police officers are working to shed light on and document the described criminal offense.

The second robbery occurred around 08:50 AM in Ilidža at a bank where two masked individuals armed with automatic weapons fired one shot into the ceiling, and then, using physical force, stole an undetermined amount of money from the vault - cash register.

- After committing the crime, the perpetrators fled in a passenger motor vehicle, an "Alfa Romeo" without license plates, in which there was likely another unknown individual, towards Velika aleja Street, Ilidža Municipality. An intervention team from the security agency guarding the bank, as well as two police patrols, pursued them.

During the pursuit, shots were fired from the "Alfa Romeo" passenger motor vehicle towards the security guards. Furthermore, at the Stojčevac picnic area, they again used firearms, damaging the security agency's vehicle and hitting a bystander who was riding a bicycle. After that, they abandoned the vehicle, which they had previously set on fire, and fled on foot in an unknown direction. To assist the injured person, a team from the Sarajevo Canton Emergency Medical Service was called, and the doctor confirmed the death of a person currently unknown.

Police officers from the IV Police Directorate, the Criminal Police Sector, the Support Unit, and teams from the Special Support Unit with service dogs have undertaken a comprehensive search of the area to find the perpetrators of the aforementioned criminal offense.

Concurrently with the field activities, a mixed team within the Police Directorate has been formed to analyze current findings and previously documented facts, with the aim of determining any connection between these two criminal offenses, as well as linking them to previously committed robberies based on the method of execution.