Cops: Suspect dead after hostage standoff at Texas Walmart
AMARILLO, Texas -- Police in northern Texas say an armed suspect has been shot dead after a hostage situation at a Walmart in Amarillo.
Amarillo police say the armed who man took two people hostage inside a local Walmart was a store employee who had a work-related dispute with the manager and that there was no reason to believe the incident had any ties to terrorism.
Police Sgt. Brent Barbee says the suspect, 54-year-old Mohammad Moghaddam, took his manager and another person hostage over a dispute related to a promotion.
Barbee says Moghaddam was a current employee at the Walmart store.
Dozens of police cars swarmed to the scene and SWAT teams, local law enforcement and the Texas Department of Public Safety responded.
The office said the suspect was shot dead by an Amarillo Police Department SWAT team. Hostages were safe, they said.
Barbee says Moghaddam was armed with a handgun.
Police said earlier Tuesday there were no confirmed gunshot victims and no shooting on-going, although there were reports of shots fired when police first responded.