An attempted bank robber was taken out by a SWAT sniper after holding hostages at knifepoint and claiming to have a bomb at a Fort Myers, Florida Bank of America on Tuesday.
According to police, Sterling Ramon Alavache, 36, presented aggressive behavior and put one of the hostages in a headlock as negotiators tried to talk him down.
A sniper fired his weapon and killed Alavache on the spot as he held a knife to a woman’s neck. No hostages or victims were injured.
“We received a call of a bank robbery in progress with multiple hostages,” Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said during a press briefing Tuesday afternoon.
“I’m proud to say that both hostages are safe,” Marceno added. “Their safety was paramount.”
ABC 7 reported:
One man is dead and two hostages are free after a tense situation and standoff at a south Fort Myers Bank Tuesday afternoon.
In a confrontation inside the Bank of America at Bell Tower along US-41, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, alongside FBI agents, responded to the report of an armed robbery incident.
Outside the bank, deputies shut down US-41, causing serious traffic backups in the area.
The situation escalated inside the bank, where the suspect, Sterling Alavache, 36, is now dead, took two people hostage, according to Sheriff Carmine Marceno.
Video shows the moments of tense negotiations between a deputy and Alavache in the bank lobby.
ABC7 spoke with a witness who was inside the bank and recounted the moment when they say a young man leaped over the counter, claiming to possess a bomb.
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