LEE COUNTY, Fla. – The Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Florida released video footage over the weekend of a fatal shooting of a suspect who had taken hostages during a bank robbery earlier this year.
A SWAT sniper used his partner’s shoulder as a shooting platform, and proceeded to send a round through a computer monitor, striking the hostage-taker in the head, reported Outkick.
The suspect, later identified as 36-year-old Sterling Ramon Alavache, was attempting to rob the Bank of America branch located near Bell Tower Shops in Fort Meyers on Feb. 7, just after 11 a.m.
Alavache claimed to have a bomb and held two people hostage at knifepoint when he was fatally shot during the tense standoff, authorities said at the time.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement accompanied by the video.
This footage is now being released to provide more context behind the fatal suspect standoff inside Bank of America that occurred in Fort Myers on February 7th. Our Special Operations Unit, Hostage Negotiations Team, and Patrol Bureau, train regularly so that all options are available when volatile situations like this arise.
Both hostages were quickly rescued by the entry team that rushed the bank.
WATCH VIDEO: Viewer discretion is advised.
Alavache had a long criminal history from several states, which included drug trafficking, aggravated assault, and carrying a concealed firearm, LCSO said.
“It’s a sad day when innocent lives are placed in jeopardy due to the senseless acts of others,” Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in the immediate aftermath of the fatal encounter. “My family members were faced with a tough decision today to neutralize an active threat to the public during a very volatile situation. Let this serve as a reminder of how important it is to remain vigilant. I’m beyond grateful none of the victims or my team were injured today.”
Kudos to the SWAT team for heroically getting the job done — with no margin for error — and keeping the two hostages safe.
