1984 Sydney bank robbery

1984 Sydney bank robbery
Location Commonwealth Bank, George Street, Sydney, and the Spit Bridge, Middle Harbour Australia
Date 31 January 1984
10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Target Commonwealth Bank and the Spit Bridge
Attack type
 Hostage-taking, robbery, siege, shootout
Weapons Pistol
Deaths 1 (the perpetrator)
Non-fatal injuries
 3 (at least 1 from gunfire)
Perpetrator Hakki Bahadir Atahan
Motive Robbery

The 1984 Sydney bank robbery and hostage crisis was an incident that took place between the hours of 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on 31 January 1984 in George Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, when a 35-year-old male went on a bank robbery spree, taking 11 people hostage, before holding police at bay for several hours before finally being shot dead. The event was described as "Australia's most dramatic hostage chase"[1] with "scenes likened to a Hollywood action film."[2]

Perpetrator

Turkish born 35-year-old Hakki Bahadir Atahan was unemployed at the time of his armed robbery spree and had carried out around 16 or 17 bank robberies between March 1983 and January 1984.[1][3] Atahan lived an expensive lifestyle renting a luxurious penthouse apartment in Manly, owned several expensive cars and robbed up to three banks a day, amassing over A$150,000 in a year.[2]

Events

On the morning of 31 January 1984, Atahan had successfully robbed two or three banks before entering the Commonwealth Bank in George Street, Sydney.[3][1] Due to the earlier robberies, police were on high alert and quickly responded to the Commonwealth Bank robbery with dozens of heavily armed tactical police, forming a perimeter. During negotiations, Atahan fired at least two shots from a pistol and released all the bank's customers. Some time later, Atatan released four female bank staff whilst keeping five male staff as hostages.[3]

Some two-and-a-half hours later, Atahan ended negotiations and emerged from the bank encircled by the five hostages, each of whom were forced to place a hand atop of the robber's head. This tactic caused confusion and prevented police marksmen from obtaining a clear view and thus depriving them of the opportunity to shoot him. Atahan forced the five hostages into a nearby Datsun sedan which had its keys left in it. He then forced a hostage to drive off through police roadblocks, which began a pursuit that lasted several hours and involved 39 police cars, a police helicopter, and four Water Police launches.[1] After two hours of driving around, Atahan released a hostage and collected his 23-year-old girlfriend Sharon Oliver.

Upon reaching the Spit Bridge, police raised the bridge, preventing Atahan from travelling any further. Detectives from the Special Weapons & Operations Section (SWOS) approached the vehicle, ordering Atahan to surrender. Atahan fired his pistol at point-blank range at Detective Senior Constable Steve Canelis, striking him just above his nose.[3] Other officers returned fire, killing Atahan.[2][4]

Aftermath

The incident, including news footage from the time, features in the 2009 Australian TV series Gangs of Oz, Episode 4 – Armed and Dangerous.[5]

Casualties

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 The Age - Google News Archive Search
  2. 1 2 3 Alex WARD. "A playboy robber, his hostages and the Spit bridge - Local News - News - North Shore Times". North-shore-times.whereilive.com.au. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  3. 1 2 3 4 http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/copshooting-bandit-hakki-atahan-meets-a-bloody-end-on-a-1984-dog-day-afternoon/story-fni0ffnk-1226814784658
  4. ↑ "Dangerous to Know: An Australasian Crime Compendium"
  5. ↑ "Wednesday TV: Gangs of Oz"
  6. ↑ The Sydney Morning Herald - Google News Archive Search

External links

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