Bank Robbery Investigation and Manhunt Underway in Sulligent, Alabama

SULLIGENT, Ala. (WCBI) – A midday bank robbery rocks the small town of Sulligent, Alabama on Thursday.

The suspect is still at large.

A lone suspect held up the First National Bank on Highway 17.

It happened before noon in a small town that’s not used to this sort of crime.

Police have a description, but few leads on the suspect.

Sulligent P.D. is leading the investigation, but the FBI, ABI and Lamar County Sheriff’s Department are helping with the case.

Thursday morning was anything but business as usual at First National Bank in Sulligent, Alabama.

“The gentleman walked in, walked up to one of the tellers and passed a note to her. No gun was ever shown and no gun was ever visible during this altercation. The tellers followed their protocol and gave the gentleman what money he asked for and the gentleman went to another teller and did the same thing, so two different tellers”.

Sulligent Police Chief Rick McDaniel says the call came in at 11:53 and officers and deputies immediately flooded the scene.

The bank is just two blocks away from the police department.

“He was wearing black pants and a white polo type shirt, a camouflage type hat with an orange or red backing and possibly an Alabama or a Mississippi State cap. He had a dark beard, possibly 5’9 probably, 180 200 pounds.”

“He left on foot. He maybe had a car parked somewhere else. I figure he is out of the area now, because of all of the descriptions of the pictures that I have seen from the camera system, I don’t recognize this gentleman and so I don’t think he is from here and I think everyone is safe.

McDaniel says as of now, there’s not an accurate count of how much money was stolen from the bank.

“The last information we had was he had a yellow bag and that the bag that he had apparently he brought in with him and that’s what he carried the money out with.”

The robbery put both local banks on lock-down and shook up this small town of less than 2,000 people.

“That’s why it’s so good that all of the law-enforcement agencies in this county work together because when something of this magnitude takes place, everybody responds without even being asked.”

City manager Brett Ballard says everyone is on high alert.

“We are just telling them to be on the lookout. We’ve got a fine police force. We’ve got a lot of guys out looking. We are very confident that it will be a safe situation, but we are definitely telling them to be on the lookout because the guy still is at large.”

Investigators say no one was injured during the robbery.

McDaniel says officers won’t stop searching for the suspect until they find him.