BREAKING NEWS – Fort Meyers, Florida – A suspected robber holding two people hostage at knifepoint inside of a Bank of America, was shot and killed by a law enforcement sniper during a tense standoff, authorities said.
The suspect, identified by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office as Sterling Ramon Alavache, 36, had a long criminal history, which included drug trafficking, aggravated assault, and carrying a concealed firearm from several states, officials said.
Alavache had two hostages and authorities tried to initiate negotiations, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said. At one point, he allegedly put one of the hostages in a headlock and put a knife to her throat.
“When he presented deadly force like that, our SWAT sniper shot and killed the suspect,” Marceno said. “We were in fear for her life and her safety.”
Alavache’s family is threatening to file a lawsuit against the police for using what they felt was unnecessary deadly force. A spokesperson for the family stated “the police should’ve just shot the knife out of his hand like they do in western movies, and questioned the hostages to determine what they did that made Alavache so angry.” They also said that their entire family is “boycotting Bank of America, unless they offer credit cards with zero percent interest for a minimum of six months.”