Policemen who carry weapons have asked their superiors to supply them with more ammunition after two officers ran out of bullets in the recent shoot-out with armed robbers outside a bank in Qormi.

“We all feel this way. The only reason no one was killed during the HSBC hold-up was because the robbers stopped shooting. If they hadn’t, the officers would have been defenceless,” said a policeman who asked not to be named.

“Their only option would have been to defend themselves with pepper-spray and tasers,” he added, glad that he had not been involved in the shoot-out.

The Times has learnt that besides being armed with pistols, members of the mobile squad have since been given permission to carry shotguns in their cars but it is not clear whether the request to carry more ammunition has been met.

When contacted, Police Commissioner John Rizzo declined to give information on the matter in the interest of police safety.

According to testimony in court, about 60 bullets were fired during the failed heist on the HSBC headquarters in Qormi at the end of June, in which two policemen came face to face with the suspects. Two men have been charged over the attempted robbery. One of the two officers testified that he ran out of ammunition while his colleague had one bullet left.

During a recent monthly meeting with their superiors, a number of policemen from the mobile squad voiced their concerns and an informal request was made for each officer to be issued with extra magazines.

The police source said this would make it easier, quicker and safer for the police to reload their pistols.

Another police source said there was also a proposal to make police cars bullet-protective and this was being looked into.

The mobile squad have other gripes too, among them the lack of air conditioning in their cars and the fact they are not paid danger money, even as policemen working in offices receive allowances.