# Virginia SWAT Kills Suspect In Hostage Situation



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*WUSA-9*

A Loudoun County sheriff's deputy shot and killed a man after a nearly four-hour hostage situation at an Exxon gas station on the Loudoun County Parkway near the Dulles Greenway.

The man went into the store about 4:40 p.m. Monday and took a female cashier hostage, the sheriff's office said. His motivation was unclear last night. Police said it doesn't appear to be a domestic situation.

During the standoff, he dragged the woman outside with some sort of weapon to her head. Hostage negotiators tried to call inside the store several times, but were disconnected. At one point, the man told police he would kill himself and the hostage, according to a press release.

A little after 8 p.m., the gunman dragged the woman outside with a weapon to her head. It appeared to deputies that the hostage had blood on her shirt and injuries to her neck.

A SWAT sharpshooter took fired at the suspect, who appeared to fall back into the Exxon station. The hostage fell to the ground and stayed there until police retrieved her. She suffered minor injuries in the incident and was being treated at an area hospital late Monday.

Police are not releasing the suspect's name until his family is notified.










AP/GERALD HERBERT

ASHBURN VA USA -- An unidentified man exits an Exxon station with a female hostage before retreating back inside during a standoff with police.









AP/GERALD HERBERT

An unidentified man emerges from an Exxon Station with a hostage seconds before being shot dead by police, seen at right against wall, on Loudoun County Parkway in Ashburn, Va. 









AP/GERALD HERBERT

Police stand over the body of an unidentified man at an Exxon station after he was shot dead by police as he held a woman clerk hostage with what appeared to be a gun to her head during a standoff.


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