A woman, accompanied by activists, barged into a Beirut bank on Wednesday, and walked away with $13,000 in cash from her own trapped savings.

The money she demanded was reportedly to help fund her sister’s cancer treatment.

In a video shared by local Al Jadeed News, the woman, Sali Hafez, could be seen holding a gun. She later told Al-Jadeed TV that it was a toy pistol owned by her nephew.

Hafez and members of protest group Depositors’ Outcry stormed a branch of BLOM Bank, demanding access to their savings.

A bank witness said they “doused gasoline everywhere inside” and threatened to burn the place down. She also said she witnessed a woman with a gun threatening to shoot the manager if she did not get her money.

Other group members held a protest outside.

An economic crisis has taken hold in Lebanon since 2019. People have been struggling to make ends meet. Banks have imposed strict limits to people’s accounts, especially withdrawals of foreign currency.

Reuters reports that people can only withdraw up to $800 a month.

Hafez claimed she had $20,000 in the bank. She said she visited the bank two days prior to the incident, and attempted to access to her money, to no avail. She was reportedly told she could receive $200 a month in Lebanese pounds.

“All we have is this money in the bank. My daughter was forced to take this money – it’s her right, it’s in her account – to treat her sister,” Hafez’ mother said in an interview.

Following the incident, Depositors’ Outcry head Alaa Khorchid said a man who was coordinating with their group broke into a bank located in the town of Aley, also for access to his restricted savings. Armed with a shotgun empty of rounds, he was alone when he entered a BankMed branch. He was apprehended by the police, and was unable to get his money.

Last month, a food delivery driver broke into another bank in Beirut, holding ten people hostage for over seven hours. Also demanding access to his trapped money

The same treatment was given to Hafez on social media. In a video she posted on Facebook, she said that she did not intend to kill anyone or burn the place. She just wanted to claim what was hers.

Hafez has since gone into hiding, but she encouraged others to pursue similar actions to retrieve their money.

“There is no government, no economic recovery plan, and little reserves left,” Khorchid told the Associated Press, adding that people have no choice but to “take matters into their own hands.”

“These people worked for decades, but not for the rulers to build palaces while they can’t afford a bottle of medicine.”