Nun Masks from 'The Town' Used in Chicago Robbery
If you've seen the Ben Affleck heist movie "The Town," then this news story might seem a bit like déjà vu. Wearing nun masks, robbers hit a Chicago bank last week.
It's a scene that seems to be taken straight out of the film. There's an incredibly eerie similarity between the posters for "The Town" and the surveillance footage of the masked, habit-wearing nun robbers.
The duo of robbers entered the bank (TCF Bank), jumped the counter, and ordered the teller and manager to fill a duffel bag with the cash from the vault, reports the New York Daily News.
There were no customers in the bank at the time, and nobody was injured during the heist. However, the two culprits were carrying handguns, and they used the weapons to intimidate the workers into opening the vault. They later fled in a silver car with tinted windows, according to the New York Daily News.
For now, the two robbers have eluded police. Whether or not the movie provided inspiration for the heist is still yet to be seen, but given the similarities, it certainly seems that way.
So, are the producers of "The Town" on the hook for inspiring this crime? Not likely. This incident, unfortunately, would not be the first time that a movie inspired a criminal act. And, in most cases, movies are protected under free speech to shield filmmakers from liability.
After all, many films depict violent scenes that may arguably provide a criminal with a roadmap on how to commit a crime. But, it's not like the movies themselves are meant to encourage people to commit crimes - they're meant to entertain.
As for "The Town" robbery copycat, the two habit-wearing nun mask bank robbers made off with an undisclosed amount of money, according to the Daily Mail.
Related Resources:
- Copycat thieves dressed like nuns from heist flick 'The Town' rob Chicago area bank (New York Daily News)
- Murder and "The Matrix": Has The Movie Caused Violence and If So, What Should We Do About It? (FindLaw's Writ)
- The Attacks on "Violent" Video Games" and "Torture Porn" Films: Two Different Strategies to Try to Get Around First Amendment Protections (FindLaw's Writ)