SWAT team kills suspect who took hostages at Texas Walmart
Authorities cite workplace violence in Amarillo
A SWAT team shot and killed an armed suspect who took hostages at a Walmart in Amarillo, Texas Tuesday afternoon, investigators confirmed, saying all the hostages are now safe.
Police identified the gunman late Tuesday as 54-year-old Mohammad Moghaddam.
(KCIT)
Moghaddam, who was an employee at that Walmart, took two other workers hostage, local media reported. One of the hostages was the store manager, relatives told the Amarillo Globe-News.
"We do consider this a work-place violence situation at this point," the sheriff's office said. City officials first reported an "active shooter incident" at 12:30 p.m. local time.
Police earlier said they were looking for a Somali man wearing khaki pants, KFDA added. Officers reportedly were evacuating shoppers from the west side of the store in the Texas Panhandle.
Jeff Nunn, the president of a nearby bank, told the Globe-News that helicopters and roughly 20 police and emergency vehicles rushed to the store. His bank and a day care center reportedly went on lockdown.
Police closed nearby streets off I-27. "Please avoid the area so that officers can focus on the scene and not traffic," the Amarillo Police Dept. said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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