Son Charged with Shooting Up Father's Saloon

Nick Robert Lindee, whose father owns Lindee's Saloon, faces charges of shooting up his father's bar Tuesday morning.

Officers received a report of the shooting at about 8 a.m. Tuesday. According to court documents, Lindee's father, Bob Lindee, told police by phone he was inside the bar with his 36-year-old son and that his son was drunk and carrying a shotgun. The saloon owner reportedly handed the phone to his son and, while his son was distracted, threw water in his face, hit him in the head with the glass and choked him into unconsciousness.

Police rushed into the bar when they heard screams and the sound of glass breaking. The elder Lindee, out of breath and sporting a large spot of blood on his shirt, reportedly told officers “He’s out cold, handcuff him.” Police found 18 shotgun holes in the restaurant. No one else was hurt.

Police brought Nick Lindee to Hennepin County Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries and then formally arrested him Tuesday night when the hospital discharged him. County prosecutors are charging him with second-degree assault and reckless discharge of a firearm, both felonies.

According to court documents, the bar owner learned his son was at the business when one of the employees called to tell him, and the elder Lindee went to there to confront him. The owner told police his son said he wanted to commit suicide and that he was being investigated for insurance fraud, an accusation supported by documents provided the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

That investigation began after the younger Lindee, who lives in St. Louis Park, told police there last December that someone broke into his home and stole six guns. Farmers Insurance paid Lindee a claim of more than $13,600. Police in Orono found those guns just last week, on May 18, in the younger Lindee’s vehicle, when they arrested him on suspicion of drunken driving. 

Lindee is now in the Hennepin County jail. Bail has been set at $100,000. He’s due to appear in court at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.