By Rachel Treisman  NPR

A man who held multiple people hostage inside a Beirut bank in an attempt to get access to his own savings was hailed as a hero in Lebanon, which is suffering from its worst economic crisis in modern history.

Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein, a 42-year-old food delivery driver, held up to 10 people hostage during the seven-hour standoff last Thursday, according to The Associated Press. He entered the Federal Bank with a shotgun and canister of gasoline, fired three warning shots, locked himself in with several bank employees and customers and threatened to set himself on fire unless he was allowed to withdraw his savings — which he said he needed to pay his father’s medical bills.

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Like many people in Lebanon, Hussein had been unable to access his life savings because of the strict limits the government put on withdrawals of foreign currency assets — effectively freezing them — when the economic crisis started in 2019. He had some $210,000 trapped in the bank, the AP reported.

The incident ended hours of negotiations later, and without any injuries, when Hussein was arrested after surrendering in exchange for what his lawyer said was $35,000 of his money. His wife told reporters outside that he “did what he had to do,” while his brother called him “a decent man” who “takes what he has from his own pocket to give to others.”

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