ORR—A brazen midday bank robbery at the American Bank branch in Orr on Wednesday sent two tellers to the hospital and the suspect to jail after law enforcement apprehended him within minutes of the crime.

Members of the public who were at the scene report that the suspect robber pepper-sprayed two female tellers who were working at the bank branch at the time. Moments before, security footage shows the suspect, identified as William Lindeman, age 55, of rural Orr, arriving on an ATV, before donning a stocking cap and goggles and entering the bank office, located at the west end of the Pelican Bay grocery and convenience store.

The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office took Lindeman into custody without further incident at his residence a few miles north of town. “He’s a real nut job,” is how one Orr area resident described Lindeman, who is currently being held in the St. Louis County Jail. He’s been booked on a charge of aggravated robbery. Law enforcement reacted quickly to the report of the robbery, in part because several law enforcement officials were already in the area. Doug Nakari, who manages the Pelican Bay store noted that there had been a steady stream of law enforcement officials in and out of the convenience store and that several troopers had been at Pattons Café in and around the same time as the robbery. According to Nakari, law enforcement officers responded to the bank, but then quickly head north of town after apparently receiving a tip on the identity and residence of the suspect.

Whether the suspect actually obtained any money isn’t clear. Nakari indicated he wasn’t in the bank for more than a few moments. According to Nakari, “He probably just grabbed what he could,” after incapacitating the tellers with the pepper spray.

The Cook Ambulance transported the two tellers to the Cook Hospital for treatment for the pepper spray. No report was available on their condition as of presstime. American Bank did not immediately offer any comment or a statement on the incident.

Several agencies responded to the scene, including the FBI, Bois Forte Polic, Minnesota State Patrol, Cook Ambulance, Orr First Responders, the Koochiching County Sheriff’s Office and the DNR.

The Timberjay will have more on this story as it becomes available.