SWAT sniper kills Florida bank robber who threatened life of hostage

Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A SWAT team sniper fatally shot a suspect who had taken hostages during a Florida Bank of America robbery on Tuesday, authorities said.

The suspect, later identified as 36-year-old Sterling Ramon Alavache, was shot amid hostage negotiations with authorities at the bank within the Fort Myers' Bell Tower complex after he put a knife to the neck of one of his hostages, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said.

"The most important thing to know is the community is safe, our hostage is safe, law enforcement is safe and the suspect who presented deadly force is no longer with us," Marceno said in a brief press conference.

The incident began shortly after 11 a.m. when police received a call of a bank robbery with hostages in progress.

Deputies, FBI, SWAT, surveillance, drones and a robot dog were deployed to the scene as dozens of people fled the building where hostage negotiators engaged the suspect.

Marceno said Alavache was armed with a knife, claimed to have a bomb and was holding two people hostage.

"We tried to negotiate with him continuously," he said, but the SWAT team sniper acted when Alavache "became physical," putting one of his hostages in a headlock and putting a knife to her throat.

"When he presented deadly force like that our SWAT sniper shot and killed the suspect. We were in fear for her life and her safety," Marceno said.

The sniper has been placed on administrative leave, as per regulations, he said, adding that the investigation is fresh, active and ongoing.

"How you train is how you perform and this is exactly what we train for. We train for worst-case scenario. We train for hostage negotiations, and what that means going from worst case to best scenario," Marceno said.

"This is a very unfortunate incident, but I will tell you the two hostages being safe was our top priority."