DENVER, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- A hostage-taker wounded in a standoff at a Denver convenience store was identified by police Tuesday as Blas Leroux.
Leroux, 35, allegedly took three hostages at a 7-Eleven store Monday morning, and police said an officer shot him in the shoulder while he was using a woman as a human shield, the Denver Post and KMGH-TV, Denver, reported.
Police Chief Robert White said negotiators spent an hour trying to talk Leroux into surrendering before he tried to escape, using the woman as a shield.
"The officers demanded that he let her go, at which time he attempted to pull her back into the store," White said. "So out of fear for her safety, one of the officers fired a shot striking the individual."
No hostages were injured.
A Colorado Bureau of Investigation report revealed Leroux, known to have used several aliases, has a long criminal record with convictions for trespass, motor vehicle theft, assault, burglary, child abuse, escape and harassment.
