See TV Reporter's Priceless Reaction to Spotting Bank Robbery Suspect During Live Shot
The reporter's reaction has gone viral on social media.
— -- A local TV reporter for the north central Iowa and southeastern Minnesota area has become an Internet sensation for his priceless reaction to spotting a suspected bank robber during a live shot.
KIMT-TV reporter Adam Sallet was outside of Sterling State Bank in Rochester, Minnesota, on Tuesday beginning a report on a robbery at the bank the previous day when a bank employee ran out, interrupted Sallet's report and pointed at the robbery suspect.
"What? Oh, that's the robber!" Sallet says with a surprised expression on the live shot. "Uh, this is live TV folks. That's the robber who just went by, according to the bank employee, so I got to go here and call 911. I'll talk to you later."
Sallet told ABC News today that "nothing like this" has ever happened to him in his years of reporting and that his first thought was whether to keep reporting the original script or to call 911 and inform authorities.
He said he called authorities, giving them a description of the suspect and where he was headed towards.
Rochester Police Department Capt. John Sherwin told ABC News today that with Liskow's help, they caught the suspected robber about an hour later in a stolen vehicle with illegal drugs and took him into custody. The suspected robber has been identified by police as 36-year-old Ryan Liskow of Rochester, Minnesota.
Sherwin explained that Liskow, who police believe also robbed the bank Monday morning, had allegedly just robbed the bank again a few minutes before the live shot on Tuesday.
Liskow also violated a federal parole for a previous bank robbery he was convicted of in 2009, Sherwin said. Liskow is expected to be charged Thursday with two counts of first-degree aggravated robbery, with additional charges possible, he added.
Online court records listed Steven Berguson as Liskow's previous attorney. Berguson did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for information, including if he is still representing Liskow.
Sterling State Bank President Justin McNeilus told ABC News today in a statement that the bank was "thankful that none of our employees were harmed during the robberies that took place at our North Rochester office."
McNeilus said he was grateful for the "fast professional response from law enforcement in arresting a suspect" and that it "is our sincere hope that this individual will not be able to cause any further harm."