A robber who took people hostage inside a Florida bank and claimed to have a bomb was shot and killed by a SWAT sniper on Tuesday.
Police responded to the Bank of America in Fort Myers shortly after 11 a.m. after receiving a report of an armed robbery and immediately realized the situation had escalated, according to the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
As deputies entered the bank, "dozens of people ran out," Sheriff Carmine Marceno said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
"It was a chaotic scene," he said, adding that the FBI also responded. "Quickly we were face-to-face with a male suspect who was armed with a knife. He also claimed he had a bomb."
The suspect, later identified as 36-year-old Sterling Alavache, was also holding two people hostage.
"We tried to negotiate with him continuously," said Marceno. "At one point during negotiations, he became physical. He started to put one of the hostages in a headlock and he had a knife to her throat... we were in fear for her life and her safety."
After Alavache "presented deadly force" a SWAT team that was in place wasted no time responding and a sniper shot and killed the suspect, Marceno said.
No hostages or officers were harmed.
The deputy who fired the shot was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, per department policy.
On Friday, police released body-worn camera footage from within the bank. The department said it shows a small portion of hostage negotiation efforts before the sniper was involved.
"It is important to note what is not readily viewable, is the suspect placing the hostages in imminent danger by threatening them with a knife, while placing them in a chokehold," police said. "In an effort to preserve the lives of the hostages and general public, the decision was made to neutralize the threat."
The sheriff's office said Alavache was a convicted felon with an extensive criminal history in several states including drug trafficking, aggravated assault, and carrying a concealed firearm.
The incident remains under investigation.