Former Kidnap Victim Vi Ripken Thwarts Holdup Outside Bank

Vi Ripken, the 75-year-old mother of former Baltimore Orioles superstar Cal Ripken Jr., averted an armed robbery outside a bank Tuesday afternoon by setting off her car alarm, police say.

At 3:01 p.m. Tuesday, an employee from NBRS Bank at 201 W. Bel Air Ave. reported to police that Ripken said a man approached her in the parking lot with a handgun and demanded her vehicle, according to a press release from the Aberdeen Police Department.

>>Update: The suspect has been charged.<<

Police said Ripken used her key fob to set off the panic alarm on her vehicle and the man left the area.

Police said they identified the suspect using an ATM photo and located him at 5:15 p.m. near the 400 block of Post Road in Aberdeen. Charges were pending, according to police.

Ripken was not injured.

In July 2012, Ripken was abducted and bound by a man who remains at large after he drove her around in her vehicle before returning her, unharmed, to her Aberdeen home. Police told WBAL the kidnapping incident was not related to Tuesday's bank incident.

"She has simply had a string of bad luck," Aberdeen police told WBAL.

Police said the holdup was "a crime of opportunity" and Ripken was not specifically targeted, according to The Baltimore Sun.

Anyone with information may contact the Aberdeen Police Department at 410-272-2121.