On Saturday June 12, Scott was getting ready to enjoy his day-off; he had taken his friend to work around 9:00 A.M. On International Speedway Boulevard in Daytona Beach. Then was headed to a nearby bank that was open on Saturdays to get some money, he was planning to spend the entire day running around with friends. When Scott arrived at the bank, he had to go inside because the check card for his recently opened payroll direct-deposit account had not arrived in the mail yet. Scott had finished his transaction, turned and was walking towards the door when a maroon four-door car pulled up in front of the entrance. Four gunmen, with their weapons drawn, exited the vehicle and ran towards the door. Scott turned and shouted towards the tellers cages, You are about to be robbed, hit the alarm! The tellers behind the bulletproof-barrier just returned a blank stare.
The four gunmen rushed through the front door of the bank demanding everyone trapped outside the protective barrier to get down on the floor. One of the four gunmen covered both Scott and a second customer but focused on Scott, forcing him to the floor in a setting position and aiming his rifle at Scott's face. A second gunman held an employee of the bank face down on the floor with his handgun against the back of her head as she screamed continuously. The remaining two gunmen pointed their handguns at the bulletproof barrier and demanded the tellers to hold their hands up. The gunman while holding his rifle at Scott's face shouted at the tellers behind the bulletproof barrier, Open the safe or I'm going to blow this m*-f*'s head off. About twenty seconds passed with no response from the tellers, safe behind their protective barrier.
The gunman shifted his aim of the rifle, from Scott's face, to under the table that separated them from the second customer, starting to scream and rising from the floor in response to the threat on Scott's life. The gunman demanded, Get back down on the ground and shut the h*l up. (Scott had thought about kicking the gunman in the side of the head when he shifted his aim but decided against it, he may have saved his life but at the cost of the employee with a gun against her head and who was now screaming louder, not a price he was willing to pay.) The gunman then re-aimed the barrel of the rifle back to Scott's face and shouted to the protected employees, this m*-f*'s going to die, just as his hand started to tense up on the trigger of the rifle aimed at Scott, a second gunmen added, It's taking too long. A third gunman yelled, Let's just shoot them all
One of the three tellers, behind the protective barrier, at last, heeded the final threat to end the lives of everyone in the lobby, which included a fellow employee. The teller emerged and opened the safe. After getting money, the four gunmen exited the bank, Scott, the only hostage sitting-up and able to see shouted, They are gone. The Bank Branch Manager entered a few seconds after the robbery, by way of an employee entrance, remarking how lucky she was to be late for work that morning.
The lobby soon filled with Daytona Beach Police Detectives, The F.B.I., other Branch Managers and Corporate Officers in charge of security. Not one of the managers or corporate officers approached either one of the two customers, They seemed more concerned with the amount of money that was gone. Even though as a DB Police Officer noted in his report, All of the victims were visibly shaken. The following business day the bank posted a guard not present on or prior to the day of the robbery and who vanished in a few days.
Scott's whole body was numb and shaking and felt as if he no longer occupied it, but was observing himself. He answered the questions asked by the detectives as best he could in his condition. He went straight home, calling off any plans with friends. He could not get the event out of his head, it kept replaying repeatedly. Then he started dreaming of the barrel of the gun at his face and of the tellers who just stood their as if his life or anybody else's life meant nothing. He was unable to sleep because of the dreams. Eventually he could not function well anywhere in public. He lost his new job and his life spiraled downward even more from there.
He first contacted the bank asking only for assistance in receiving mental-health counseling. He had thought that banks, like schools and other institutions, would have some form of mental-health counseling available to employees and customers involved in hostage situations. Eight months later, after not hearing back from the bank, Scott saw a doctor of psychiatry who diagnosed Scott with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The doctor placed him on medication combined with therapy sessions. Scott later found out the medication he was on, which although it helped him considerably, had been proven to cause type II diabetes in persons who took it. Nine months after his initial request and only because he had retained an attorney, Scott received a letter in reply from the bank. The letter from the bank stated, After a thorough investigation, although they were sorry this incident occurred, they had determined no responsibility for this incident therefore would offer no assistance.
Scott
Daytona Beach, Florida
U.S.A.
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