Bank Manager Held Hostage Breaks Silence About Terrifying Ordeal
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A Buena Park bank manager, who was held hostage last week, is speaking out for the first time about the terrifying ordeal.
At a news conference Tuesday, hostage victim Michelle Kwon says she believes the suspect -- identified by Buena Park police as Myung Jae Kim of Irvine -- targeted her.
According to bank officials, one of Kim's relatives took out a safety deposit box at Hanmi Bank back in 2006, where Kwon previously worked.
Amanda Burden, reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, said it was a year later when 54-year-old Kim allegedly had claimed that the contents of the box had disappeared.
"Hanmi Bank had conducted an internal audit and looked through all the bank employees' accounts. Nothing was found," Kwon said.
It's still unclear what interaction Kim had with Kwon.
In fact, officials at Hanmi Bank say Kim was never a client.
"We just make it clear that Kim was not our customer. He was not the one who opened up the safe deposit account," said Mark Yoon of Hanmi Bank.
The 4-hour hostage standoff on March 1, ended with a shootout between the suspect and SWAT teams.
Kwon was rescued unharmed, while Kim was taken into custody and hospitalized with gunshot wounds.
Meantime, Kwon says reliving the terrifying ordeal is simply too painful.
If convicted, Kim could face a maximum sentence of up to five life terms plus 40 years in state prison.
Kim, who remains hospitalized at UCI Medical Center in Orange, is being held without bail.
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