Man charged for taking hostages at school

• Tweet

CHELSEA, Ala., Feb. 14 (UPI) -- A 21-year-old man has been arrested and charged for a hostage situation at a middle school in Alabama's Shelby County, officials said.

Ryan Matthew Sims has been charged with five counts of first-degree kidnapping and one count of making a terrorist threat for the Tuesday incident at Chelsea Middle School, AL.com reported.

On Tuesday, Sims entered the school just after 3 p.m. and went into the locker room where he held the five girls hostage with a gun.

A sheriff's deputy who has been on guard at the school since the mass shootings in Newtown, Conn., talked Sims into releasing three of the girls after about five minutes and later got him to release the other two.

Sims eventually surrendered. The incident was over in about 20 minutes.

Authorities said Sims was distraught over a relationship.