UPDATE: 8:58 pm- Around 7:45 Nebraska State Patrol held a Media Conference to discus the current situation at hand in Alliance Nebraska at Thiele Pharmacy & Gifts where a hostage situation arose Tuesday morning at what first was a robbery, that quickly turned into a hostage situation. Not only is a hostage situation unpredictable and nearly uncontrollable, it’s also a time when every thing is put to a halt and the community as a whole state of Nebraska feels the concern as time passes.
“When we woke this morning in the best hometown in america little did anyone in our wildest dreams foresee what would transpire today” says , Alliance Mayor Fred Feldges at the begging of the conference. “At 8:50 this morning a 911 call was receive that changed our lives in Alliance” he continues. Around that time Alliance police arrived at Thiele Pharmacy & Gifts where the first call that sparked the hostage situation was made. Once the police arrived, an officer had been shot, suffering from non-life threatening injury’s. “Our sympathies go out to all concerned with this incident, and the tragedy here is that it’s still on going” say Feldges as he opens up for questions by the media.
Lieutenant Lance Rodgers with the Nebraska State Patrol of Scotsbluff, Chief John Kiss, and City Manager J.D. Cox answered various questions for the media while trying to give as much information as they are aloud.
“We’re hopeful for everyone involved in today incident” says City Manager J.D. Cox as he begins to inform that there are many agency’s that helped the city of Alliance today. “After our police department had the initial response to this incident, it became very clear very early in the incident that we would need assistance, and so assistance was sought and assistance responded” says Cox. The City of Alliance does not have very much experience with this kind of situation and under the conditions everyone involved is working/worked very well to contain restore peace. The State Highway Patrol responded to the call for assistance as well as the Alliance Volunteer Fire Department was on the scene early and was still there during the conference.
Chief John Kiss then began to speak. “We did have two officers who were injured today. One was 35 Officer Matt Shannon, he was with Alliance Police department for 5 years, he was treated and released. The other officer was 43 Kirk Felker he has been with the Alliance police department 15 years, he has sustained injury’s and he’s recovering. ” Two officers today risked their lives today in response to the call.
Lieutenant Lance Rodgers says “We received the call at approximately 8:45 this morning” “Upon arrival we set up a corner” Rodgers continued. Each alliance has set up a corner, the Police Department, Sheriffs Department each had a corner as the authority began to asses the situation. Shortly after Negotiators arrived. Negotiators had not been able to create a communication with the gunman until approximately 7:30 in the evening. Negotiators worked at trying to get the gunman out of the building. Rodgers confirms there is a second location being investigated in association with the bodies found at 6th and Cody. Authority’s are unable to confirm that there is a body at that location.
A hostage of the gunman was able to escape. The name of the hostage is Charls Lierk, owner of Thiele Pharmacy and Gifts. He had been held hostage for over seven hours.
After the question heard below was asked, Negotiators are confirmed to have made communication with the gunman, but the details were unknown at the time.
Asmore information is available, will be posted.
ALLIANCE, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a gunman wounded two police officers and is holding at least one hostage inside a western Nebraska drugstore after a botched robbery attempt.
Local authorities say before the hostage situation began, the person had killed two people at a local mobile home. A second officer with the Nebraska State Patrol SWAT Team had been shot while trying to get into position. Both officers have non life threatening injury’s.
Alliance City Manager J.D. Cox says the gunman inside Thiele Pharmacy & Gifts is believed to be heavily armed and “there is tremendous concern” for the hostage.
Authorities say the standoff began about 8:50 a.m. Tuesday. Nebraska State Patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins says a patrol SWAT team is on the scene, which she described as “extremely dangerous.” Entire downtown blocks in the small town of Alliance are shut down.
Cox says an Alliance police officer was shot early in the standoff and the trooper was wounded later in the morning. Cox says the first officer had surgery, but didn’t immediately know the conditions of either.