A man dressed in a Santa Claus costume robbed a lottery and DVD store of $1100 (200,000 Hungarian forints) at approximately 8 p.m. (local time) Saturday evening. Bekescsaba, Hungary. 06/12/2009.
A man dressed in a Santa Claus costume robbed a lottery and DVD store (pictured) in Bekescsaba, Hungary of $1100 (200,000 Hungarian forints) at approximately 8 p.m. (local time) Saturday evening.
According to a report in the Bekes Hirlap newspaper, a man dressed in a red suit, white beard and glasses told the store clerk that he wasn't bringing a package but taking one.
The clerk asked the man to repeat himself. "Money," the robber said.
The clerk was able to prevent the man from getting his hands on the till at first. The man then used a metal bar to strike the clerk's hand, sprayed the clerk several times with gas, went behind the counter, took the money and left the scene in a yellow Lada.
The clerk told Bekes Hirlap that she thought it was a joke at first. "Youngsters who frequent the shop are often trying innocent pranks," she said.
The woman told the paper that she had recently suffered a heart attack and had an heart operation.
Hungary celebrates Nicholas Day (Mikulas Nap) on December 6th, a tradition that began in the late 19th century. Men in Santa Claus attire hand out candies and chocolates to young children. Thus this would have been a night in which thousands of men clad in red suits and white beards would have been seen throughout the country.
