Landmark bank robbed by man in hazmat suit

While a hazmat suite is new, the CEO of Niverville Credit Union says this is not the first time the Landmark bank has been robbed.

RCMP say a lone male entered the Niverville Credit Union branch in Landmark at around 10:20 a.m. Wednesday morning and demanded money.

They say a member services representative working there complied with the suspect, who then handed the suspect an undisclosed amount of money. 

No weapon was seen on the individual during the theft and no injuries from the robbery are being reported.

RCMP say that the suspect is believed to have fled the scene in a white vehicle that had “extensive damage” to its rear.

Credit union Chief Executive Officer Ken Rempel says his employees did the right thing by listening to the man.

“Our staff handled this event well and were calm and cool as the events unfolded,” he states. “They are trained to deal with these sorts of things.”

The CEO stresses the extreme rarity of such an event noting the Niverville Credit Union in Landmark has only been robbed once before, in April of 1998 and, likewise, the Niverville Credit Union in Niverville was robbed once in August of 1988.

For Rempel, the most important thing is that none of his employees were injured during the incident.

“When something like this happens, you are really concerned about the safety of everyone there and we are very thankful that nothing happened in that regard.”

Rempel says if any of his members suffer mental or emotional trauma as a result of the theft, they will receive support from the credit union.

RCMP Manitoba says they will release more details on this theft tomorrow.